Young single people and access to social housing

In order to complete the transition from youth to adulthood, albeit an extended or fractured transition, young people require access to a secure, affordable, long-term home. Since the late 1980s, young people aged 16-24 have been over-represented among single homeless people (Anderson et al. 1993) and much subsequent research and analysis on youth housing issues has focused on homelessness (Hutson and Liddiard 1994); special initiatives such as foyers (Quilgars and Anderson 1997; Anderson and Douglas 1998); private sector access schemes (Rugg 1996, 1997); and ‘Rough Sleepers’ initiatives (Randall and Brown 1993, 1995, 1996). Much less attention has been paid to young people’s opportunities to secure more permanent housing in the social rented sector.