ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the different ways that people may occupy homes and the pros and cons of different types of tenure, including situations when renting may be the better option. It describes the advantages and disadvantages of different types of housing tenure. The chapter presents the main tax and subsidy schemes that governments may use to promote home ownership. It discusses the problems faced by young people in the UK who would like to buy their first home. Across developed countries, in 2015, on average households spent 19 per cent of their disposable income on housing costs. Homes are expensive, so that most people must borrow by taking out a mortgage. In the period immediately before the global financial crisis of 2008, it was possible in some countries, such as the UK and USA, to get 100 per cent mortgages, meaning that people did not have to pay any deposit at all.
