SOCIAL HOUSING

Social housing

Social housing

Introduction

Public or social housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by not-for-profit organizations, or by a combination of the two, usually with the aim of providing affordable housing.

Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, definitions of poverty and other criteria for allocation vary.

History

The documented history of social housing in Britain starts with Almshouses which were established from the 10th century, to provide a place of residence for "poor, old and distressed folk". The first recorded Almshouse was founded in York by King Athelstan, and the oldest still in existence is the Hospital of St. Cross in Winchester, dating to circa 1133.

Although international migration has always been a feature of national life, this aspect of population change has increased substantially since the early 1990s, caused by increased asylum migration and later, increased work migration from within and outside the EU. At the same time, public concerns about the scale and impact of migration have gained prominence. Among the most controversial and least understood areas of these concerns are the real and perceived impacts of migration on housing demand and supply. In particular, public concerns about housing and migration have focussed on the perception that:

Migrants put pressure on the supply of social housing.

Migrants are less deserving of social housing than UK citizens.

Migrants receive priority in the allocation of social housing.

Social housing allocation systems are unfair to the white British population. These perceptions were highlighted in May 2007, when Margaret Hodge, MP for Barking, suggested that new migrants should have less right to social housing ...