Housing and security in England and Wales: casualisation revisited

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to use the notion of “casualisation” in an employment context to reflect on similar developments in England and Wales since 1996 which have combined to undermine security of tenure in the private and social rented sectors and exposed the vulnerability of owner occupiers who default on mortgage repayments.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on observations made by commentators in housing and social policy as well as official papers, statutes and cases.FindingsThe problems posed for the long‐term security of residential occupiers are highlighted and are shown to result from a combination of factors including the deregulation of the private rented sector, the dependency of housing association on their rental streams, governmental preoccupation with anti‐social behaviour in social housing and the principle that mortgage lenders have the right to possession of the mortgaged property.Originality/valueThe notion of casualisation is used as an analytical tool to assess changes in law and policy, and to suggest possibilities for reform.

Secure Occupancy: A New Framework for Analysing Security in Rental Housing

“…Housing market context is important to de facto security, for example where tenants overstretch themselves financially in order to have somewhere to live, as suggested by detailed research which indicates that lower income households faced with a shortage of affordable housing commit to rent levels higher than indicated by their incomes in countries as diverse as Norway (Stamsø, 2010) and Australia (Wulff et al, 2011). There is also clearly a range of non-housing market-related reasons why renter households may not experience de facto security of tenure, including loss of income or job and fluctuating income due to increasing casualisation of the labour market (Morgan, 2009), as well as significant life events such as family breakdown. Broad structural changes could also be expected to affect de facto security for renters, such as higher rates of unemployment in Secure Occupancy 641 many European countries, and in the USA, in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis of 2007 -2008. Perceptual security refers to the sense of security that occupants have over their housing.…”