Decent Homes and notions of home: the implications of the social housing reform agenda for notions of home

Aimee Walshaw

CRESR, Sheffield Hallam University

Introduction This (emerging) paper follows on from Walshaw (2011) which

highlights the positive impact of the Decent Homes (DH) programme on notions of home amongst Social Housing (SH) tenants.

Both papers draw on data from a 4 year (2007-2010) longitudinal study examining the impact of a housing modernisation programme (delivered under DH) in two neighbourhoods in a Yorkshire city.

A comprehensive dataset: 89 in-depth interviews with residents, two surveys of 500 residents, two residents' films, three photo novella exercises and a programme of stakeholder interviews.

Aims of the paper This paper seeks to re-examine this data in light of the

Coalition's proposals for the reform of SH in England which aim to encourage residential mobility amongst workless residents (residing in the SH sector)

The paper is concerned with 3 proposals in particular: the restriction of security of tenure introduction of two

year fixed term tenancies for incoming tenants end of succession rights which enable properties passed

on through generations or to next of kin increase affordable rent levels up to 80% of market

values

Aims of the paper (2) The data will be used to explore the following

questions: What is the likely impact of these proposals

on the positive notions of home that DH has helped engender and the range of important 'psycho social' benefits that ensue?

To what extent will future tenants be able to access the same benefits?

Decent Homes These proposals arrive at the end of a decade

characterised by intensive housing renewal including the rehabilitation of the SH stock via Decent Homes.

DH was unrivalled in scale and comprehensiveness, aiming for all SH to be ‘decent’ "wind and weather tight, warm and has modern facilities" (NAO, 2010) by 2010

Despite failing to meet this target on time, DH has brought about vast improvements in the quality of SH over the last decade (Cole et al, 2010).

The renaissance of Social Housing? The scale of this investment combined with an upsurge in

demand following the onset of recession meant that by the end of the decade, SH was experiencing something of a revival (LGA 2009,CRESR 2009) offering three 'USPs':

affordability- sub market rents security- a home for life (something not assured by OO) quality (following Decent Homes)

Although it is important to note that this revival is more reflective of the affordability crisis than the rehabilitation of the reputation of the tenure.

The literature The paper draws on the work of Kearns et al (2001) and their study

of the psycho social benefits of the home They identified 3 potential psycho social benefits associated with the

home: The home as a haven The home as a locus for autonomy The home as a source of status

They explored the factors that facilitate and prevent the attainment of these key benefits.

Tenure had limited bearing on attainment of these benefits but the condition of the home did.

The literature (2) Kearns et al build on the work of Giddens and Saunders and

Williams (1998) in terms of establishing the role of the home in the attainment of ontological security

'The confidence that most human beings have in the continuity of their self identity and in the constancy of their social and material environments. Basic to a feeling of ontological security is a sense of the reliability of persons and things.' (Giddens, 1991)

The home is so often the mainstay of our social and material environments- 'the 'locale' of our predictable everyday life' (Giddens 1984)

The work of Peter King is also relevant: the home as permanent, comfortable and 'keeping us physically, emotionally and ontologically safe' (King, 2009)

The literature (3) The paper will aim to contribute further to our

understanding of housing as a key determinant of ontological security and more specifically, the idea that characteristics unique to SH may act as facilitators of ontological security is explored

There is also a relevant and extensive body of literature to be explored around residential mobility and the idea that social housing acts as a check on the labour market (Hills 2007, Leunig and Swaffield, 2007)

Findings

Decent Homes and notions of home Four year study which employed a suite of 'bottom up' methods to

engage with residents before, during and after the modernisation of their homes.

Improvements done to the home typically included the installation of new windows and doors, new bathrooms and kitchens, new central heating systems, electric fires plus replastering, damp proofing and new roofs in some cases.

Key conclusion: comprehensive housing modernisation is one physical way of engendering more positive notions of home and enabling tenants to derive a range of psycho social benefits from the home.

It is acknowledged that feeling at home is as much about the neighbourhood context and social connections as it is about the dwelling itself.

Decent Homes and notions of home (2) The study identified significant improvements in the 'emotional

well being' (a broad sense of feeling good, better or happier (Gilbertson, 2006)) of tenants as a result of the modernisation programme

These improvements are driven by 4 (inextricably linked) factors which closely reflect the core psycho social benefits of home identified by Kearns et al (2001): improved warmth, comfort and relaxation in the home

(haven) greater pride in the home (status) feelings of greater safety and security in the home (haven) the 'personalisation' of the home through the selection of

fixtures and a decorating allowance (autonomy)

From House to Home Indeed, between years two and three of the study there

was a notable change in their emotional attachment to where they lived. More specifically, they increasingly began to refer to their residence not as ‘house’ but ‘home’.

"I always liked the house anyway but it doesn't seem like its rented now . It feels more like my home. It feels like its mine at the end of the day. It feels good to spend time here." (Female resident, 2010)

From House to Home (3) It was also clear that the longer the tenant had lived in

their current property the more likely they were to experience a positive step change in their feelings about their home

This finding resonates with the work of Saunders and Williams (1998) who highlight the importance of 'belonging’ and that of Kearns et al (2001) who highlights the importance of having a home in good condition in terms of being able to access the psycho social benefits of the home.

From House to Home (4) The opportunity residents were given to 'personalise'

their homes was a key driver of a greater sense of 'belonging' in and 'ownership' of the home

Investing in the home As a result tenants are investing more ‘resources’ in their

homes 62% of tenants have spent more money than they would have

previously on their home as a result of the modernisation 57% of tenants report that they would like to spend more

money on their home

Investment in the home can be seen as both a corollary and a driver of residents deriving more psycho social benefits from the home

Kearns et al (2001) stress the importance of 'what people put and invest in their homes' to psycho social benefits.

Spending more time at home A key indication that the modernisation programme has

enabled tenants to access key psycho social benefits of the home to a greater degree is the finding that 72 % of tenants wanted to spend more time in the home as a result of the modernisation programme

"You feel you want to be at home more and have friends round. I did a barbeque in the summer for the first time so I could show it off." (Female resident, 2009)

Conclusions These findings provide robust indications that improvements

in housing quality via comprehensive housing modernisation galvanises the role of the home as a safe haven, a place of autonomy and a source of status.

Arguably, once quality is resolved and combined with sub market rents and security of tenure, SH can be seen to provide the foundations necessary to move towards ontological security.

In the current economic climate SH is the only tenure offering assured affordability, security and quality as standard

Housing modernisation can’t happen every year but nothing comparable has occurred in the PRS

Stability v. mobility Regardless of how long the effects of DH last, the sector

still offers the greatest degree of stability (in its current form).

Current proposals threaten to destabilise these USP's of SH thus undermining the ability of future SH tenants to access the core psycho social benefits of the home

In simple terms, if time limited access to SH becomes a reality, incoming tenants will be denied stability (long term access to decent housing, the opportunity to put down roots, make friends, find work in a particular neighborhood).

Stability v.mobility (2) However, there are persuasive counter arguments re the

relationship between social housing and the labour market (Hills 2007, Leunig and Swaffield, 2007) that this data can neither confirm nor dispel that discourse

Other research indicates they don’t reflect reality: Hickman 2010 'relatively few reported that it (moving for employment) was a factor that would shape their future housing decisions.’

Resonates with Giddens (1987) who highlights the need to consider the home in the context of people’s wider lives.

The reform proposals appear to advocate securing employment at all costs, potentially to the detriment of the psycho social well being of tenants

Policy implications There are clear policy contradictions between proposals aimed at

liberalising the labour market and housing systems and the notion of Localism itself .

The conditions required for Localism to happen combined with evidence to suggest that employment is unlikely to shape housing decisions in reality leads us back to the need to regenerate local economies.

Housing modernisation can’t achieve this alone: we need to look 'beyond the bricks and mortar' and recognise that the regenerative impact of programmes of housing modernisation will be limited if local socio economic problems are not tackled in parallel.

.

Questions a.walshaw@shu.ac.uk 0114 2256297

References National Audit Office (2010), The Decent Homes Programme, TSO, London. Cole et al (2010), Assessment of the Decent Homes Programme please

contact author re this paper Local Government Association, 2009. Demand for social homes soars.

[online] (Updated 12th March 2009) Available at: http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=1696604 [Accessed 12 April 2011].

CRESR (2009), Residents' views of the housing market in Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield

Kearns, A., Hiscock. R., Ellaway, A., & McIntyre, S. (2000), 'Beyond four walls: The psycho social benefits of home: Evidence from West Central Scotland'. Housing Studies, Vol.15, No. 3, pp. 410-987

References Giddens, A. (1991), 'Modernity and Self identity: Self and society in the late

modern age', Polity press, Cambridge Giddens, A. (1984) The Constitution of Society (Cambridge, Polity Press). Giddens, A. (1987) Social Theory and Modern Sociology (Cambridge, Polity

Press). Saunders, P. & Williams, P. (1988) The construction of the home. Towards

a research agenda, Housing Studies, 3(2), pp. 81–93. King, P. (2008) In Dwelling: Implacability, exclusion and acceptance

(Aldershot, Ashgate) Hills, J. (2007) Ends and Means: the future Roles of Social housing in

England. London: Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, London School of Economics and Political Science.

References Leunig, T. and Swaffield, J. (2007) Cities Unlimited: Making Urban

Regeneration Work (London: Policy Exchange) Gilbertson, J.,Stevens,M., Stiell, B and Thorogood, N. (2006), 'Home is

where the hearth is: Grant Recipients' views of England's Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (Warm Front)', Social Science and Medicine, No. 63, pp. 946-956