Taking Another Look At Regenerating Social Housing

older 5 story brick UK social housing, modestly attractive
Sure, this social housing is well-built and reasonably attractive. But think of brand new housing that can be built if we knock some of it down!

In North America, the idea of regenerating ‘public housing’ is pretty much a dead duck1. For decades now, the pressure by neoliberal-leaning governments in the United States has been to turn public housing over to the tender mercies of the private sector. It is supposedly more capable of both raising money and spending it than government and/or non-profit run enterprises.

These free market interests carve off chunks of public housing and sell them on the free market. Inevitably, some of the existing public housing is sacrificed to profitable ventures such new market rate housing for people who are more affluent to buy or rent.

The United Kingdom has been drifting steadily in the similar direction, albeit supporting a somewhat different business model. Instead of enlisting private sector support, UK governments have been encouraging non-profit housing associations to play in the free market, adjusting rules and laws so that the non-profits can do private sector things.

On one hand, housing associations are charged with the responsibility of preserving existing social rent housing. On the other, rules have been relaxed for housing associations to create subsidiary profit-making entities, pouring successful housing speculation profits back to their non-profit parents.

This flirtation with profit-making activities has been fingered as a reason that the upkeep of existing social housing stock has languished to a point where it is being identified by some experts as ‘beyond regeneration2.’

This non-profit profiteering compliments the belief in the United States that public housing is a disaster unworthy of government support. But in the UK, the acceptance of such an attitude is by no means a foregone conclusion. Some are arguing a reasonable, and reasonably affordable, pathway towards regeneration of most, or all, existing social housing stock.

The following report tackles this question. Read more at SMF: Strong foundations: The value of regenerating social housing – and how we can pay for it

Footnotes

  1. Public housing is not to be confused with ‘social housing’ in the United States. Social housing is a ‘new’ form of American housing that will be offered to the lowest classes and to middle class renters, which does not yet exist (if it ever does).
  2. For an example of languishing social rent housing, try: Highest Ever Fine Handed Out To Large UK Social Landlord. What’s Going On Here?