ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the range of criteria which might be used as bases for public intervention in the case of housing. Such intervention broadly takes the form of staff time spent in assessing and formulating policy, and cash for maintaining and building dwellings. Whatever the political priority given to housing, there are a limited set of information bases available for judging the degree and level of intervention: housing aspirations, house condition and housing needs. Aspirations regarding housing exist at all levels in society. The main distinction is between: aspirations which have some likelihood of fulfilment and aspirations which can only be fulfilled with public assistance. House condition information refers essentially to the physical utility of the dwelling and the household occupying it. ‘Housing need’, like condition, is a statutory term, and there is a duty upon local authorities to assess it. Public policy intervention in housing in turn influences the level of need within the community.
