Preface

The background to this book emanates from reflecting on several years of research into precarious housing.Included in this research were interviews with people for whom experiences of housing had been problematic and sometimes chaotic through no fault of their own.People too scared to leave their room because of drug dealing in their house in multiple occupation (HMO), and people too scared to come back to their HMO because of parties and violence.One tenant, with a history of alcoholism, paid in alcohol by their landlord to carry out building maintenance, and another given a rent reduction to 'enforce' housing debt for the landlord.Another tenant with a history of mental health challenges and learning difficulties told he could not leave his tenancy while he owed money, though he had no idea of how much he owed or why he was in debt.Interviews that were often characterised by tears, anxiety, and a feeling of hopelessness.In addition, there were parents with children who had been forced to move many miles from their home to avoid being homeless.These households, disproportionately from minoritised communities, lost touch with their friends and families, were forced to leave jobs behind, and left social networks that were, frequently, essential elements of support with mental health and recovery.For many of these people, housing was not a source of security and home but was instead an additional burden that made their lives worse rather than better.This book is about understanding the context of these events, the ways in which we can explain (or not) what is happening, and sometimes ways of theorising the driving forces.In doing so, the book engages with concepts such as neoliberalism, commodification, financialisation, and the nebulous nature of something called a 'housing crisis'.Furthermore, it reflects on the role of government, global financial crises, changes in the role of welfare, and the creeping influence of the market.All of this helps us to understand a concept of housing inequality and the way in which this inequality is shaped by forces and factors that extend well beyond the physical reality of the actual bricks and mortar of housing supply.Ultimately, we cannot simply build our way out of housing inequality.Amid the theorisations, analyses, and reflections, it should always be remembered that this relates to people's everyday lives, their lived experiences, as well as the stress and poverty they endure because of their housing needs not being met in a humane and caring manner.It feels increasingly like concepts of humanity and caring are being stripped away from a hollowed-out welfare state based on meeting needs in a minimalist