ABSTRACT
By the early 1980s it was clear that something was happening to British council housing. As illustrated in the previous chapter the most obvious development was its contraction in both absolute and relative terms. This numerical decline was, however, combined with other observable processes. It was increasingly catering for specific groups within the working class such as single parent families and the homeless. And there was a general shift towards market determined opportunities and costs in terms of rising rents and the sale of parts of the existing public rental stock. There was an increasing emphasis on means tested benefits and a poor law ethos was evident in developing attitudes towards council housing. Whilst such attitudes were by no means new they were now more explicit. Homes were now only fit for heroes if they were owner occupied.
