An end to ‘tenancy for life’ in the social housing sector will not solve current acute shortages. The UK simply needs more homes for social housing tenants

Social housing is still an important part of the way we live in the UK – more than one in six homes in Britain are owned by local authorities or social landlords. However, the system has been gradually eroded over the past three decades, and we are now at a point where demand for social housing greatly exceeds supply. Chris Gilson investigates what effects David Cameron’s recent initiative to end ‘tenancy-for-life’ might have on social housing and the people that live in it.