The privatization of council housing

Abstract

Direct provision of affordable rented housing by local authorities is fast disappearing in Britain with the transfer of homes to quasi-private landlords. This article describes the process as it has unfolded since the late 1980s, and suggests that it imposes greater long-term risks on former council tenants and town hall staff, while also generating considerable costs for the taxpayer. The process also excludes the many tenants who either reject transfer or are not given the choice, and therefore exacerbates inequalities. There are immediate and substantial benefits for transferred tenants, but this has to be weighed against the loss of a municipal public service.