ABSTRACT
Instead, attention has been focused on rescuing the property from deterioration (or replacing it), improving the living conditions of private tenants, and providing an alternative to the privately rented sector, and directly assisting tenants by way of rent allowances (thereby hopefully reducing the disincentives to landlords). Nevertheless, a combination of circumstances, including dissatisfaction with the present housing system, the increasing interest in alternative forms of tenure, wider support for grass-roots initiatives, and some effective lobbying, have combined to arouse official interest. Though this can hardly be described as enthusiastic, it is now sufficiently encouraging to have led to some action. The truth of the matter is that there has been inadequate clarity about the questions at issue. ‘Alternative forms of tenure’ has been a banner under which many different campaigns are being waged. Some earnestly search for more sensitive ‘housing processes’ within which the consumer plays a positively active role.
