An article examined the utility of path dependence in housing. Path dependence was an attractive concept in relation to housing policy, where there was clear evidence of continuity over time. But housing policies and housing systems did change, often in gradual and incremental ways, not usually in dramatic transformations at a given point in time.
Source: Peter Malpass, 'Path dependence and the measurement of change in housing policy', Housing, Theory and Society, Volume 28 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
The Welsh Government began consultation on its future housing policy. It set out key objectives, including 'dramatically' increasing the number of new homes – both for those who could afford to buy outright through the market and for those who required subsidized housing. New models of housing, such as co-operative housing, would be developed; and new ways of financing housing developments would be found.
Source: Meeting the Housing Challenge: Building a consensus for action, Welsh Government
Links: Consultation document | Welsh Government press release
Date: 2011-Dec
An article sought to rebuild and strengthen the case for policy-related comparative housing research as an academic activity.
Source: Mark Stephens, 'Comparative housing research: a "system-embedded" approach', International Journal of Housing Policy, Volume 11 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
An article examined the usefulness of the concept of power structures in explaining the formation of distinct welfare states and housing systems, by reference to the different privatization paths and diverging power structures in three integrated housing systems in western Europe.
Source: Christian Lennartz, 'Power structures and privatization across integrated rental markets: exploring the cleavage between typologies of welfare regimes and housing systems', Housing, Theory and Society, Volume 28 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
A chapter in the 2011-12 British Social Attitudes Survey report examined public attitudes to housing policy issues. Opposition to new homes was strongest in the south of England, where housing shortages were most severe. However, most people accepted that some new homes were needed; and those who initially said that they would not support development could be swayed if plans included new amenities for their community. Although rising house prices and restricted access to mortgages had seen falling levels of home-ownership in recent years, it remained the tenure of choice for the vast majority.
Source: Glen Bramley, 'Homes, planning and changing policies' (in Alison Park, Elizabeth Clery, John Curtice, Miranda Phillips, and David Utting (eds.), British Social Attitudes 28: 2011-2012 Edition), SAGE Publications
Links: Chapter | Inside Housing report
Date: 2011-Dec
An employers' organization set out short- and long-term solutions to the housing crisis. Short-term recommendations included the introduction of a mortgage indemnity guarantee scheme to enable first-time buyers to take out low-deposit mortgages, and allowing them to access savings locked up in their personal pension pots to boost their deposits. Recommendations for the longer term included reducing the 'regulatory drag' on house builders, ensuring that the planning system was 'pro-growth' to make the building of more new houses possible, and reviewing stamp duty.
Source: Unfreezing the Housing Market, Confederation of British Industry
Links: Report | CBI press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2011-Nov
An article examined whether the distributional consequences of contrasting welfare systems were enhanced, replicated, or countered by housing systems in England and the Netherlands.
Source: Mark Stephens and Guido van Steen, '"Housing poverty" and income poverty in England and the Netherlands', Housing Studies, Volume 26 Issue 7-8
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Nov
A paper said that the increase in economic inequality in advanced welfare democracies could be understood better by taking account of the changes in the housing regimes of many countries.
Source: Caroline Dewilde, The Interplay Between Economic Inequality Trends and Housing Regime Changes in Advanced Welfare Democracies, Discussion Paper 18, GINI Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Nov
The coalition government published a housing strategy for England. It included a package of reforms designed to: reinvigorate the housing market; lay the foundations for a more responsive, effective, and stable housing market in the future; support choice and quality for tenants; and improve environmental standards and design quality. Individual measures would make it easier to secure mortgages on new homes, improving fairness in social housing, and ensure homes that had been left empty for years were lived in again.
Source: Laying the Foundations: A housing strategy for England, Department for Communities and Local Government
Links: Strategy | Hansard | DCLG press release | Downing Street press release | Conservative Party press release | CIEH press release | Design Council press release | EHA press release | FMB press release | Green Party press release | HBF press release | HCA press release | Labour Party press release | NHF press release | NLA press release | RIBA press release | RICS press release | TCPA press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Inside Housing report | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Nov
A study examined housing policy in Wales. It considered the purpose of social housing in Wales, ways in which homelessness could be prevented, and how an increased supply of sustainable housing could be achieved.
Source: Kathleen Kelly and Tamsin Stirling, Welsh Housing Policy: Where Next?, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Oct
A report examined the key commitments and policy statements on housing produced since the election of the coalition government in May 2010, and assessed how the coalition had fared in meeting its stated objectives. The government was falling short across a number of areas, including: ensuring sufficient housing supply, tackling homelessness, and improving affordability in the private rented sector.
Source: The Housing Report: Edition 1, Shelter/National Housing Federation/Chartered Institute of Housing
Links: Report | CIH press release | NHF press release | Shelter press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2011-Oct
A report said that the under-occupation of housing had jumped by around 45 per cent since 2003 and was continuing to grow at an 'alarming' pace – mainly because older people were living longer and staying in the family home rather than downsizing to more appropriate accommodation. The report called for changes to the tax system to encourage the downsizing process, such as an exemption from stamp duty for people aged over 60 when they moved to a smaller property.
Source: Matt Griffith, Hoarding of Housing: The intergenerational crisis in the housing market, Intergenerational Foundation
Links: Report | Intergenerational Foundation press release | CIH press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2011-Oct
An article examined the varying impacts on European housing systems of the international financial crisis.
Source: Harry van der Heijden, Kees Dol, and Michael Oxley, 'Western European housing systems and the impact of the international financial crisis', Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, Volume 26 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Sep
A new book examined the role of housing in social policy. It considered whether social policy and people's homes should be so closely connected, especially when housing markets were so volatile.
Source: Stuart Lowe, The Housing Debate: Policy and politics in the twenty-first century, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Sep
Four linked briefing papers examined the implications of the coalition government's healthcare reform programme for the housing sector.
Source: Merron Simpson and Kate McAllister, Housing Support and Personalisation: Practical advice for the current moment, Housing Learning and Improvement Network | Gill Leng, Public Health and Housing: We can get it right, Housing Learning and Improvement Network | Steve Appleton, The New NHS Commissioning Landscape and Its Impact on Housing and Care for Older People, Housing Learning and Improvement Network | Peter Molyneux, Opportunities to Improve Health and Well-being: Integrating secondary and acute health care and housing in the new NHS, Housing Learning and Improvement Network
Links: Paper (1) | Paper (2) | Paper (3) | Paper (4)
Date: 2011-Aug
A trade union report said that the sharp distinctions that policy-makers drew between those who owned their homes and those who rented them made for bad policy. The 'false hierarchy' failed to acknowledge that many owner-occupiers were trapped in areas with weak labour markets and faced excessive liabilities.
Source: James Gregory, Can Housing Work for Workers?, Trades Union Congress
Links: Report | TUC press release
Date: 2011-Jul
A paper examined the need for a housing strategy in Northern Ireland, and for a strategic housing authority that was able to drive it forward.
Source: Making the Case for a Housing Strategy, Chartered Institute of Housing Northern Ireland
Links: Link removed by CIH
Date: 2011-Jun
A report said that the government's proposals for planning and housing reform in England were likely to exacerbate social and regional inequalities. The 'new homes bonus' scheme and the abolition of regional planning policy would result in more homes being built in wealthy areas, and could have a long-term effect on the population distribution. Housing benefit changes were likely to affect a significant number of low-income households, intensifying social segregation.
Source: Hugh Ellis, Policy Analysis of Housing and Planning Reform, Town and Country Planning Association
Links: Report | Inside Housing report | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Mar
An audit report said that the government needed to determine how to invest limited resources most effectively to support the resilience of failed housing market areas. It said that the housing market renewal pathfinder programme, which was due to be closed down by the government at the end of March 2011, had made a 'substantial contribution to improve housing and economic circumstances in local areas' – leading to rising house prices, fewer empty homes, and a reduction in crime.
Source: Housing Market Renewal: Programme Review 2010, Audit Commission
Links: Report | Audit Commission press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2011-Mar
The Scottish Government published a strategy paper on housing for the period to 2020. Local councils would be given new powers to increase council tax on long-term empty homes, raising funds to build low-cost homes.
Source: Homes Fit for the 21st Century: The Scottish Government's strategy and action plan for housing in the next decade: 2011-2020, Scottish Government
Links: Strategy | Scottish Government press release | SNP press release | BBC report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2011-Feb
An article examined recent reviews for evidence that mixed-tenure housing policies and strategies had achieved the benefits expected for them. Despite the fact that the reviews indicated that the evidence base was deficient, 4 of the 6 reviews emphasized the positive effects of tenure mix.
Source: Lyndal Bond, Elena Sautkina, and Ade Kearns, 'Mixed messages about mixed tenure: do reviews tell the real story?', Housing Studies, Volume 26 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jan
An article examined the political participation of people experiencing homelessness in European policy-making processes. From the perspective of deliberative democracy, there was little scope to oppose the political participation or mobilization of homeless people at the European level: although homeless people would face greater challenges in developing a European organization than service-provider organizations, these obstacles were neither fundamentally different nor insurmountable.
Source: Silke Paasche, 'Improving the democratic quality of EU policy making: what role for the participation of people experiencing homelessness?', European Journal of Homelessness, Volume 4
Links: Article
Date: 2011-Jan
A paper examined the sections of the Localism Bill relating to planning, housing, and London.
Source: Christopher Barclay and Wendy Wilson, Localism Bill: Planning and Housing, Research Paper 2011/03, House of Commons Library
Links: HOC Library research paper | Bill | Explanatory notes | Guide
Notes: The Localism Bill was given a second reading on 17 January 2011.
Date: 2011-Jan
