The social rented sector, housing and the welfare state in the UK

Recent discussions of the social rented sector in the UK have placed considerable emphasis on the restructuring and declining size of the tenure, privatisation, a shift from object to subject subsidies, residualisation and the increased significance of the poverty trap for tenants. Against this background, and in the light of the view that major public sector investment is unlikely in the future, the policy debate has shifted further towards concern with transfer of stock out of the public sector. This paper reviews key changes in the role of social rented sector housing and the background to these debates. It argues that it is important to relate the development of council housing to the wider structure of the welfare state; its position within the public sector; the changing structure of the private sector in housing; and the changing economic, social and demographic context. These aspects ave of key importance to debates about residualisation and the future of the sector.