In the 1970s it was widely recognised that our planners and administrators were dealing not with a homogenous housing market but with a complex of housing sectors and sub-markets – with different locations, physical and social characteristics, tenures and costs. But although factual information was widely available from the Census and other official sources, our understanding of the true nature of the British housing system – and the relationships at work within it – had remained inadequate. Originally published in 1976, this book sets out, by careful examination of the complexities of the system, to improve that understanding and to discuss the implications for policy in the differing roles played by central and local government, developers, builders, the building societies and the voluntary housing movement.

The book is divided into three parts. The first describes and classifies the different household types (identifying their various characteristics, such as income, social class and stage in the family cycle) and their dwellings. It examines the process of household movement and discusses various explanatory approaches to housing.

Part Two describes in detail the three main tenure sectors in Britain and emphasizes the opportunities and constraints on access to housing. Not only is tenure of profound institutional, political and legal importance; it is also of great significance in the lives of individual households. Part Three analyses the objectives of housing policy and considers the nature of housing policy in Britain at the time. Factors that would lead to a more humane and effective policy are assessed and discussed.

The authors, from the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies at the University of Birmingham, worked for three years on the SSRC Housing Systems Research Programme. They brought to this study a wealth of experience in applied social and policy-orientated research and were uniquely qualified to examine housing policy and practice in Britain. An important book which would have been of vital interest to all those concerned with contemporary urban and social problems at the time.