Whats social about social housing

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• Whats social about social housing?
• (and whats the law got to do with it anyway?)
• An Inaugural Lecture delivered by Professor David
  Cowan

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Structure of Lecture

• Part I What is social housing?
• Part II How does the social function in social
  housing?

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What is social housing?

• A scandal in Westminster
• homes for votes or ownership v housing need
• The purpose Meeting housing need

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Studies of Homelessness Law

• Housing need as moral concern
• homelessness law has always required us to
  oppress the homeless by making moral judgments,
  not about their housing need, but about why the
  homeless become homeless in the first place.
• From housing need to tenantability or
  responsibility
• Homelessness - housing need - risk management

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Where is the law?

• Law provides a shroud of legitimacy
• Denial and deterrence
• The enabling rule of law
• Laws potency in obscurity
• if transparency provides a model of good
  governance, obscurity provides a model for
  efficient government

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Part II Introduction

• From
• What is social housing?
• To
• What is the social in social housing?

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Labelling social housing

• Contesting the label
• Public Private
• Re-conceptualisation of housing need
• Private sector housing as social housing

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Developing Municipal Housing

• Housing and the welfare state
• The growth of housing need
• Housing need as industry
• Importing ethics

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Three Illustrations I Choice-Based Lettings

• From allocation to lettings
• From bureaucracy to market
• Re-imagining the government of social housing

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Three Illustrations II Possession Proceedings

• Rise in possession proceedings
• District Judges visions of the social the
  moral occupier
• one of my guiding principles, is I look to see to
  what extent the tenant has helped him or herself
  or is able to help him or herself and, if they
  are able to help themselves and do absolutely
  nothing to help themselves then I dont see why
  the court should help them frankly.

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Three Illustrations III Anti-Social Behaviour

• Anti-social behaviour as industry
• Growth in law
• Anti-social/social
• Separation
• Obscurity as a tool of government
• Looking/searching for the anti-social
• Social housing as governable territory

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Where is the law? (Part II)

• From hard law to softest law
• The silent presence
• The law is all over

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