Divisions of Homeownership: Housing Tenure and Social Change

This paper is concerned with the way in which housing tenure categories are used in analysis of social change in Britain. The tendency to represent tenures as unchanging, homogeneous categories with exclusive attributes is discussed. It is argued that it is important to assess the ways in which dominant housing tenures have been changing and to highlight differentiation within tenures. This discussion is mainly pursued in relation to debates about homeownership. Reference is made to the need to appreciate various elements contributing to the growth of homeownership and various differences between homeowners in terms of accommodation, legal rights, material interest, security, and social class. In conclusion it is argued that polarised presentations of homogeneous tenures are an inadequate basis for discussion and that recognition of key divisions within tenures is important in developing an understanding of the relationship between housing and social change.