What’s social about social housing? (and what’s the law got to do with it anyway?)

An Inaugural Lecture delivered by Professor

David Cowan

2 Structure of Lecture

• Part I: What is social housing?

• Part II: How does the social function in social

housing?

3 What is social housing?

• A scandal in Westminster: – ‘homes for votes’ or ‘ownership v housing need’

• The purpose: Meeting housing need

4 Studies of Homelessness Law

• Housing need as moral concern:– [homelessness law] has always required us to oppress the

homeless by making moral judgments, not about their housing need, but about why the homeless become homeless in the first place.

• From housing need to ‘tenantability’ or

‘responsibility’

• Homelessness - housing need - risk management

5 Where is [the] law?

• Law provides a shroud of legitimacy– Denial and deterrence

• The enabling ‘rule of law’

• Law’s potency in obscurity– if transparency provides a model of good governance,

obscurity provides a model for efficient government

6 Part II: Introduction

• From …– What is social housing?

• To …– What is the social in social housing?

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10 Labelling ‘social housing’

• Contesting the label

• Public – Private– Re-conceptualisation of ‘housing need’

• Private sector housing as social housing

11 Developing Municipal Housing

• Housing and the welfare state

• The growth of housing need – Housing need as industry

• Importing ethics

12 Three Illustrations I: Choice-Based Lettings

• From allocation to lettings

• From bureaucracy to market

• Re-imagining the government of social housing

13 Three Illustrations II: Possession Proceedings

• Rise in possession proceedings

• District Judges’ visions of the social & the moral

occupier

– one of my guiding principles, is I look to see to what extent the tenant has helped him or herself or is able to help him or herself and, if they are able to help themselves and do absolutely nothing to help themselves then I don’t see why the court should help them frankly.

14 Three Illustrations III: Anti-Social Behaviour

• Anti-social behaviour as industry– Growth in law– Anti-social/social– Separation

• Obscurity as a tool of government

• Looking/searching for the anti-social– Social housing as governable territory

15 Where is [the] law? (Part II)

• From hard law to softest law

• The silent presence

• The law ‘is all over’

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