Housing Since 1945: The Impact of Policy Change and Ideology

Housing policy in England has undergone significant reform on several occasions since 1945. Consensus approaches in the late 1940s and 50s to build large numbers of council houses and new private homes gave way to more ideologically driven policies in the 1970s and 80s. Fashions for modern architecture, system building and the layout of estates (and reactions to such fads) fed the politicisation of housing, notably in relation to attitudes to the relative benefits of owner-occupation as compared to social renting. A substantial number of council homes were sold off at a discount under the Thatcher government's Right to Buy policy. Successive governments failed to maintain the social housing estate, whether owned by local government or housing associations. Since 2000, a new consensus has emerged where a modest increase in social housing is seen as desirable, alongside policies to encourage owner-occupation and to improve the private rental sector.