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HOMES & PROPERTYPROPERTY NEWS Comment: ‘Why council housing is key to solving the housing crisis’ Buyers, renters and council tenants would all benefit from a revitalised state-led home building programme
Friday 11th November 2022
Could there be a more apposite time for A History of Council Housing in 100 Estates, by social housing historian John Boughton, to hit shelves?
In a week when we’ve seen the full horror of the conditions in which refugees are being detained in Kent, while private renters are grappling with a dizzyingly expensive and competitive market, a book that opens with a discussion of adequate housing as a human right touches a nerve.
Racist rhetoric loves to make a direct link between the two scenarios, blaming “invading” immigrants for soaring housing costs.
But house prices have risen inexorably over the years, regardless of fluctuations in net migration numbers, while house-building has been at less than half the level needed for years.