ABSTRACT
Even though housing associations have only 1.2 million properties (or 5 per cent of the total housing stock), they have been at the centre of housing policy since 1989. They are the main social landlords building new dwellings and accordingly have grown considerably, using a mix of public subsidy and private finance to fund new development. Housing associations have been central to the model of public provision developed by the Conservatives in the 1990s. This has involved the use of market disciplines within a framework of central government regulation and control. The expansion of housing associations has been funded by an injection of over £13 billion of private finance. Yet most associations still need public finance in order to develop and are, in consequence, regulated to ensure they fulfil the aims of government. Since 1989 government has reduced the level of public subsidy, requiring associations to increase the amount of private finance they must raise.
