Tackling deprivation on social housing estates in England: An assessment of the housing plus approach

The poverty and social exclusion experienced by growing numbers of social housing tenants in England is making landlords' task increasingly difficult. Concentrations of unemployment and other forms of disadvantage tend to lead to other problems such as indebtedness, crime and vandalism which make such housing estates unpopular and expensive to manage and maintain. In response, housing associations (HAs) in England are increasingly seeking to address these wirier problems so that their investment in bricks and mortar is underpinned by efforts to sustain community well-being. This has been termed the 'Housing Plus' (HP) approach. But HP raises questions about social landlords' role vis-ci-vis that of other agencies. This paper reviews HAs' progress in implementing HP in England, its impact upon residents' quality of life and links with wider regeneration strategies. While some HAs have achieved notable successes, the overall response has been patchy because of differences of view on mission, resource constraints, the modest scale of initiatives in relation to the severity of the problems and contradictory housing and urban policies.