| Summary: | Since the 1980’s, investment by the UK government into the construction of new social rented housing has dwindled significantly. As a result of Right to Buy selloffs, the demolition of aging stock, and a relative lack of replacement social new-build, the per capita supply of social rented housing has dropped to a new low. At the same time, demand for these limited properties has risen drastically, particularly in London. What social rented housing resources do remain have also been fragmented between council-administered choice-based lettings schemes and housing association waiting lists. This research has sought to examine the effects of these changes on the lives of people applying to social rented housing using semi-structured interviews with participants from housing association waiting lists. 50 housing applicants were interviewed from across London. Interviews focussed on participants’ housing history, the process and outcomes of their various applications, and the effects of their continued failure to gain entry into social rented housing. Findings indicate participants to be fundamentally ignorant both of the growing scarcity of social rented housing and of the mechanics of its distribution. Many had made maladaptive decisions based on these misunderstandings. The majority of participants were overcrowded, overworked and/or occupying poor housing. Many felt that something had been taken from them, vaguely aware that earlier generations had an easier time accessing “good housing” but unable to explain why that was. Social rented housing in the United Kingdom has changed from a more widely available form of aid to an emergency program rationed only to those who are in emergency need. This would appear to have left vulnerable those who are in non-critical need. The aim of this research has been to explore that vulnerability through narrative.
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