The paper applies the 'characteristics' approach developed with respect to the labour market in order to examine why the percentage of households who rent privately varies across the country. Regression analysis is used to show that the distribution of private renting is closely related to the...

Recent housing policy debates in the UK have shifted away from discussion of housing need to more market-oriented analyses of affordability. This article discusses the principles that lie behind the concepts of need and affordability and the ways in which they have been defined. It then traces...

This paper reviews the mechanisms by which the British government has introduced private finance into the provision of housing for lower-income households. It clarifies the range of measures that have allowed transfers from social to private ownership, both into owner-occupation and to...

In many developed countries, house prices have been rising rapidly, mortgage debt has been increasing and affordability has worsened. It is in this context that the standard annuity mortgage is increasingly being supplanted by mortgages with non-standard features, such as longer terms or...

This paper explores some implications for the housing market of the operation of the land use planning system in the United Kingdom, drawing out the relevance of the methodology for other forms of land use regulation. In contrast to the American zoning system, the U.K. system ensures enough land...