Table Of ContentHOUSING PHILOSOPHY
This book addresses key issues in housing policy through the lens of the
philosophical concepts that underpin them. It is intended to be an introduction
to philosophical subjects and how they relate to key housing issues and deals with
the concepts with enough rigour and depth to be of use to undergraduate and
postgraduate students and teachers.
Both practitioners in the housing sector and academics researching hous-
ing-related subjects often use terms such as ‘fairness’, ‘social justice’, ‘tenure’,
‘property’, ‘home’ and others as if there is a single agreed meaning for these
terms. But these terms can be highly contested, and there are multiple view-
points for each of them that could change how we approach them, and how we
therefore create, interpret and implement policies and procedures. This book
aims to introduce certain concepts and provide guidance and stimulate thinking
around how they make an impact on real-world policy. Each section opens with
a relevant case study designed to highlight the philosophical concepts to be dis-
cussed and coverage ranges from homelessness to the role of government and the
state, to house prices, value and property rights.
This book will be of interest to students at both undergraduate and postgrad-
uate levels, studying housing qualifcations or philosophy, sociology, politics,
governance and social policy – it will be of particular use for those interested in
the application of philosophical concepts to a real-world policy area with clear
consequences.
Yoric Irving-Clarke has worked in housing for over 20 years and is the author
of Supported Housing: Past, Present and Future and co-author of Housing and Domes-
tic Abuse: Policy into Practice with Dr Kelly Henderson. He has a PhD from De
Montfort University, UK.
HOUSING PHILOSOPHY
Applying Concepts to Policy
Yoric Irving-Clarke
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Yoric Irving-Clarke
The right of Yoric Irving-Clarke to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other
means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-032-27818-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-27606-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-29821-2 (ebk)
DOI: 10.1201/9781003298212
Typeset in Bembo
by codeMantra
CONTENTS
Acknowledgement vii
Prologue ix
Introduction 1
1 Can’t we all just agree that housing is a good thing, and the
government should provide it? 4
2 Why do we need the state anyway? 26
3 Why does housing cost more, just because it’s in London? 50
4 Why are there homeless people and people living in
poor-quality housing in a modern, rich country like
England in 2022? 70
5 Why can’t I burn my house down if I feel like it? 99
6 Why can’t governments just do what they like once they
get elected? 123
Epilogue – concluding comments 149
Index 153
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Once again, thanks to Dr Peter King for his, as ever, generous support with his
time and perceptive comments on draft chapters. And, thanks to all those who
have wittingly or unwittingly contributed to this book via purposeful or random
conversations. Finally, thank you to Cheri, Tash and my family for their love and
support with all that I do. These are simply debts I will never be able to repay.
PROLOGUE
In this book, and in my other writings, I have constructed a history of housing
policy in the UK and used this at various points to illustrate the points I make.
To provide you, the reader, with a quick reference point and to provide a full
account in one place, I have pulled that history together here.
A brief history of housing policy in the UK
(Social) housing policy has a relatively short history in the UK with much of
it being constructed as part of the post-war welfare state (c.1945–1979). Prior
to this housing for the poorest people was via Houses of Industry or Correc-
tion, workhouses or ‘lunatic asylums’ (See Irving-Clarke [2016; 2019] for a full
account). There were also pockets of charitably provided housing, for example,
alms-houses provided by religious groups or the mercantile class (See Pannell &
Thomas, 1999). Otherwise, housing was largely a mix of owner occupiers and
private renters. Many people lived in accommodation that was tied to their jobs,
e.g. housing provided by landowners for farm staf or later in villages such as
those pioneered at Bournville by the Cadbury family. The Industrial Revolution
had meant forced clearances of much common land and people being forced into
the new cities to man the factories.
That said, the Housing and Working Classes Act 1890 empowered local a uthorities
in London to build housing for poorer communities and charge reasonable, fair
rents. This was the frst time the state had played a role in the provision of hous-
ing to a noticeable extent. Councils had to re-house a least half of the people dis-
placed by these slum clearances. A decade later, the Housing of the Working Classes
Act 1900 extended the 1890 Act to areas outside London and allowed councils to
buy land outside their own districts.
