I have posted below my contribution to the CIH series of essays on ‘Where is housing heading?’, which is published today. It’s therefore a longer-than-usual post.

The essay presents the core arguments in favour of social rented housingand the urgent need to re-start a programme of building new homes which will be available at tradition social rent levels and with security of tenure. It is highly critical of the Coalition’s so-called ‘affordable rent’ scheme, with its high rents and reduced tenants’ rights.

The CIH series has already published a number of fascinating and excellent essays including ones by Jules Birch, Vidhya Alakeson, John Perry and Grania Long. Another essay on social housing is published at the same time as mine, by Keith Exford. We haven’t collaborated or compared notes, so it will be interesting to see how close or far apart our views are!