ABSTRACT
Housing policy has best been described as consisting of ‘measures designed to modify the quality, quantity, price and ownership and control of housing’. The ways in which policy is put into practice are inevitably matters of political concern. A ‘consumer perspective’ of rented housing lies at the heart of the Law Commission’s proposals. This involves the conceptualisation of housing law as a branch of consumer law with the contract as the key component of the landlord-occupier relationship. Housing policy (and, therefore, housing law) depends on how housing itself is viewed. The realignment in housing tenure has occurred in the context of important social trends and it has become clear that reliance on market-oriented policies is seriously limited, given the pattern of housing needs, general levels of income and demographic factors – notably the rate at which new households are being formed. There are four main types of tenure in Great Britain: owner-occupation, council renting, housing association renting and private renting.
