Abstract
Decent, affordable housing continues to be a major concern for policy-makers, providers and society at large. This paper contributes to the debate over the future of social housing in England by reviewing the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP). The AHP (2011–2015) saw the level of grant funding reduced dramatically; with the shortfall to be filled from housing associations own resources, increased rents and borrowing. To understand the implications of the AHP, this paper utilizes the concept of financialization. Financialization is a multifaceted process that seeks to explain the increased role and power of the financial markets in society. Specifically, the paper shows that the AHP leads to increased debt levels in the social housing sector, is predicated on short-termism and accumulation by dispossession. Finally, by employing financialization the paper also addresses debates about the nature of housing policy and how it can best be conceptualized.
Highlights
Decent, affordable housing continues to be a major concern for policy-makers, providers and society at large
The reclassifications of HAs – as public private bodies – by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) between 2015 and 2017 may solve the issue of keeping the debt off the public balance sheet but in the process has required a reduction in government regulation of the sector; which in turn creates another tension, increasing the risk that a housing association may default on its debts (Smyth, 2017b)
There has been resistance to financialization where some housing associations have taken a deliberate decision not to engage with the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP); have set affordable rents at close to social rent levels, or have refused to raise finance capital through a corporate bond issue (Smyth et al, 2017)
Summary
Affordable housing continues to be a major concern for policy-makers, providers and society at large. 144) to move the debate about housing policy ‘beyond the shallow idea that the housing question comes down to determining the right balance between state and market’ To achieve these aims, the paper is structured as follows: the section sets up the theoretical framing by exploring the debate about the nature of housing policy (Madden & Marcuse, 2016) and ideas related to financialization (Aalbers, 2016; Cooper, 2015; Harvey, 2012). The paper is structured as follows: the section sets up the theoretical framing by exploring the debate about the nature of housing policy (Madden & Marcuse, 2016) and ideas related to financialization (Aalbers, 2016; Cooper, 2015; Harvey, 2012) This is followed by a section outlining the research design.
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