Abstract
This paper examines the sale of council housing between the wars and discusses the implications which findings on early council house sales have for an understanding of the owner occupied market at a critical period of its development. The paper first looks at the sales policy in England and Scotland and then focuses on Edinburgh, where, because of the political constitution of the Corporation, sales were actively encouraged. There then follows an analysis of the class structure of tenants and owners on the main 1919 Act estates in the city. The reluctance of sitting tenants to purchase council houses, together wilh information on their alternative choices, supports the argument that the move into owner occupation at this time was not the result of an innate desire to own but was a rational decision. What was important were the relative costs of renting and buying, and the attractiveness and availability of owner occupied housing compared with housing in other tenures.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 527-541 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Housing Studies |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 4 |
Publication status | Published - Oct 1996 |