The Housing Pathways of Young People in the UK

Abstract

The authors examine the housing pathways o f young people in the U K in the years 1999 to 2008, and consider the changing nature o f these pathways in the run up to 2020. They employ a highly innovative methodology, which begins with the identification and description o f key drivers likely to affect young people's housing circumstances in the future. The empirical identification and analysis of housing pathways is then achieved using multiple-sequence analysis and cluster analysis of the British Household Panel Survey, contextualised by qualitative interviews with a large sample o f young people. The authors describe how the interactions between the meanings, perceptions, and aspirations o f young people, and the opportunities and constraints imposed by the drivers, are having a major impact on young people's housing pathways, resulting in considerable housing policy challenges, particularly in relation to the private rented sector.

Young people and housing: identifying the key issues

“…The housing experiences of young people have become a critical international issue, with young people's housing problems being reported widely in the media and an increasing concern of scholars (Clapham, Mackie, Orford, Thomas, & Buckley, 2014;Forrest, 2012;Forrest & Yip, 2016;Mackie, 2012;Ronald & Hirayama, 2009;Yip, Forrest, & La Grange, 2006). For example, many young people are being confined to tenures they would not typically choose to occupy, with transitions from the family home into independent living becoming increasingly delayed, protracted and complex (Billari and Liefbroer, 2010).…”

The convergence, divergence and changing geography of regulation in the UK's private rented sector

“…For some households, constrained access to owner occupation due to affordability issues has led to the phenomenon of 'generation rent', whereby young adults have a deepening reliance on the PRS for longer periods of the time (Clapham et al, 2014;Hoolachan, McKee, Moore, & Soaita, 2017). Demand has also grown amongst households with dependent children (Coulter, 2016;DCLG, 2016a; Department for Social Development, 2015), and amongst more vulnerable households in England and Wales as a result of alterations to homelessness duties of local authorities that rely on the PRS for housing homeless people.…”

“…The sector has grown considerably in real terms and as a proportion of all housing stock, and in some areas has usurped social housing as the predominant form of rental tenure. Historically seen as a 'transitional' tenure, used by people requiring short-term or flexible housing (Rugg & Rhodes, 2008), the PRS is increasingly relied upon to house greater proportions of the population for longer periods of time, including families, people for whom owner occupation is unaffordable and those on lower incomes or in receipt of means-tested housing assistance, who may have previously accessed social housing (Clapham et al, 2014;Cole, Powell, & Sanderson, 2016).…”

Young adults’ pathways into homeownership in Tokyo: Shifting practices and meanings

“…In this article, the concept of 'housing pathways' will be used to describe the trajectories young adults follow (Clapham et al, 2014). Clapham (2005) coined the term and defined housing pathways as 'patterns of interaction (practices) regarding house and home over time and space ' (p. 27).…”

“…Furthermore, while examining a Japanese case, we reflect more generally on the challenges of mature homeowner societies, in which the reproduction of the tenure has come increasingly under strain. Theoretically, and as a secondary contribution, the article will argue for refocusing the concept of housing pathways (Clapham, 2002(Clapham, , 2005Clapham et al, 2014) from an emphasis on discourse and individual identity projects, to embodied practices.…”