Originally published in 1995. A comprehensive survey of housing policy throughout Europe, anchored in a thorough analysis of the UK, this book is a text for students of housing at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The book considers housing tenure types and looks at standards of living, housing stock, housing allowances and subsidies and European funds. There are separate chapters for France, Germany, Spain, The Netherlands and Sweden. The later chapters focus on Britain and look more in depth at population issues and economics and address regional policy.

What are the major housing problems in contemporary Britain? How effective are the policies designed to tackle these problems? These are the central questions this book sets out to answer, using a critical approach to identifying housing problems and the formation of policy. Understanding housing policy is an up-to-date text on a rapidly changing policy field written by an author with extensive experience in implementing housing policy. The second edition of this best-selling text has been completely revised and includes a new chapter on the political processes involved in the construction and delivery of housing policies. In addition, the new edition: reviews theoretical perspectives helpful in understanding the normative dimensions of housing policy; examines explanations of policy development and implementation processes; explores the development of housing policy in the United Kingdom; contains a chapter on comparative housing policy; examines a number of contemporary housing problems: affordability; homelessness; low demand and neighbourhood deprivation; overcrowding; multi-occupation; 'decent' homes and 'sustainable' housing. devotes a chapter to the relationship between housing and social justice; includes an assessment of the impact of New Labour's housing policies and the policy orientation of the Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition. For more detailed information on this title, please go to the author's website http://housingpolicy.moonfruit.com

Affordable housing in the United Kingdom has become an ever more potent issue in recent years, as rapid population growth and a long-term lag in new housing construction have combined to making finding secure, affordable housing difficult for a broad range of people. This book uses insights from public choice theory, the new institutionalism, and social constructionism to lay bare the historically entrenched power relationships among markets, planners, and electoral politics that have made this problem seem so intractable.

Breaking the country-specific boundaries of traditional housing policy books, Remaking Housing Policy is the first introductory housing policy textbook designed to be used by students all around the world. Starting from first principles, readers are guided through the objectives behind government housing policy interventions, the tools and mechanisms deployed and the outcomes of the policy decisions. A range of international case studies from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas illustrate the book’s general principles and demonstrate how different regimes influence policy. The rise of the neo-classical discourse of market primacy in housing has left many countries with an inappropriate mix of state and market processes with major interventions that do not achieve what they were intended to do. Remaking Housing Policy goes back to basics to show what works and what doesn’t and how policy can be improved for the future. Remaking Housing Policy provides readers with a comprehensive introduction to the objectives and mechanisms of social housing. This innovative international textbook will be suitable for academics, housing students and those on related courses across geography, planning, property and urban studies.

Now in its fourth edition, this textbook has been completely revised to examine the current state of housing policy in the UK. Exploring developments in housing policy made since Labour's 1997 electoral victory, the book addresses current issues including the 'brownfield versus greenfield' debate; the phasing out of renovation grants; the transfer of local authority housing to registered social landlords; boom, slump and boom in the owner-occupied sector. Other topics addressed range from regional policy and housing across the UK, to social exclusion, community care and homelessness.

Housing Policy in the UK is a major new textbook that traces the emergence of a 'new comprehensive housing policy' in the wake of the Communities Plan and regionalisation. Grounded in cutting-edge research and analysis, it provides a clear account of the evolution and current dimensions and tensions at the heart of this policy.

An evaluation of the most enduring privatisation of the Thatcher era ... Written in an accessible style, this is a key reference for students and researchers in housing and planning; geography; and social policy. The book analyses the operation and impact of the right to buy policy (RTB). It includes a critique of the Housing Act and the 2001 Housing (Scotland) Act. The enactment of these changes under a Labour government affirms the continuance of the RTB. The authors take stock of its profound effect on housing policy, reversing the growth in social housing developed over the twentieth century, transforming the nation's tenure structure and revolutionising the UK housing system. The Right to Buy: analysis and evaluation of a housing policy begins with an examination of the policy background to the establishment of the RTB and the main features of the legislation. This is followed by chapters that review its take-up and the pattern of sales and their impact on social housing; a chapter examining the financial aspects of the RTB from the viewpoints of tenants, local authorities and central government; one looking at the impact of the RTB via subsequent re-sales on the open market and on the private rented sector; and a chapter drawing on the information already reviewed to consider the potential of the RTB to create sustainable and diverse communities. In the final chapters the international experience of parallel policies are considered and the future take-up of the RTB is assessed in the light of recent reforms together with alternatives.