ABSTRACT

Unlike the earlier stages of slum clearance, the administrative arrangements for rehousing residents from clearance areas are not tailored to fulfill the requirements of legislation. As long as a local authority acknowledges a general responsibility to rehouse displaced residents there is no central government interference in the way this obligation is to be met nor is there a prescribed form of administrative machinery. Commentators have inevitably directed attention to the part played by housing officials in the allocation process, and in particular, the role of housing visitors. The overall requirement of the allocation system is that it should match houses and applicants so that new or relet houses are filled as they come available. Perceptions of the public with whom they are dealing are one aspect of the structure of meanings and day to day interpretations of reality which housing staff bring to the execution of their jobs.