Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a combination thereof. The details, terminology, definitions of poverty, and other criteria for allocation may vary within different contexts, but the right to rent such a home is generally rationed through some form of means-testing or through administrative measures of housing needs. One can regard social housing as a potential remedy for housing inequality. Within the OECD, social housing represents an average of 7% of national housing stock (2020), ranging from ~34% in the Netherlands to less than 1% in Colombia.
In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, non-profit organisations that provide low-cost "social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budget surplus is used to maintain existing housing and to help finance new homes and it cannot be used for personal benefit of directors or shareholders. Although independent, they are regulated by the state and commonly receive public funding. They are now the United Kingdom's major providers of new housing for rent, while many also run shared ownership schemes to help those who cannot afford to buy a home outright.
Housing tenure is a financial arrangement and ownership structure under which someone has the right to live in a house or apartment. The most frequent forms are tenancy, in which rent is paid by the occupant to a landlord, and owner-occupancy, where the occupant owns their own home. Mixed forms of tenure are also possible.
A housing cooperative, or housing co-op, is a legal entity which owns real estate consisting of one or more residential buildings. The entity is usually a cooperative or a corporation and constitutes a form of housing tenure. Typically housing cooperatives are owned by shareholders but in some cases they can be owned by a non-profit organization. They are a distinctive form of home ownership that have many characteristics that differ from other residential arrangements such as single family home ownership, condominiums and renting.
Equity sharing is another name for shared ownership or co-ownership. It takes one property, more than one owner, and blends them to maximize profit and tax deductions. Typically, the parties find a home and buy it together as co-owners, but sometimes they join to co-own a property one of them already owns. At the end of an agreed term, they buy one another out or sell the property and split the equity. In England, equity sharing and shared ownership are not the same thing.
Agudas Israel Housing Association (AIHA) is a BME Housing Association that provides over 900 low-cost homes for members of the Orthodox Jewish community in need across the UK. The non-profit includes low-cost housing for rent and shared ownership; retirement living; residential and nursing care; supported living for people with special needs; and a mother-and-baby home.
Anchor was England’s largest not-for-profit provider of housing, care and support to people over 55 years old up until November 2018 when Anchor merged with Hanover Housing Association to form Anchor Hanover Group, the largest provider of specialist housing and care for older people in England.
Places for People (PfP) is a property management, development, regeneration and leisure company based in the United Kingdom. On 20 March 2024, it was announced that it had completed the merger of its operations with those of South Devon Rural (SDR).
Orbit Group is a housing group providing affordable housing to around 47,000 households in England, mainly in the Midlands, East Anglia and the south east, operating out of 7 offices with its head office in Coventry.
Orchard Village, formerly known as the Mardyke Estate, is a housing development in the South Hornchurch area of London, England.
The G15 is an organisation of the largest housing associations in and around Greater London in the United Kingdom, which collectively are responsible for managing in the region of 600,000 homes in London. They state their purpose as "working to solve the housing crisis by delivering good quality, affordable homes of all types".
Bromford is a housing association providing affordable housing and specialist housing support services. The businesses covers a wide geographical area, predominately Central England and the South West, which includes Gloucestershire, the West Midlands, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire. Bromford also incorporates Bromford Homes, an outright sale business arm providing shared ownership homes to assist private/social renters move onto the property ladder.
A council house, corporation house or council flat is a form of British public housing built by local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing a number of council houses and other amenities like schools and shops. Construction took place mainly from 1919 to 1980s, as a result of the Housing Act 1919. Though more council houses have been built since then, fewer have been built in recent years. Local design variations exist, however all followed local authority building standards. The Housing Acts of 1985 and 1988 facilitated the transfer of council housing to not-for-profit housing associations with access to private finance, and these new housing associations became the providers of most new public-sector housing. The characterisation of council houses as 'problem places' was key for leading this movement of transferring public housing stock to the private arena. By 2003, 36.5% of the social rented housing stock was held by housing associations.
Sutton Dwellings, also known as the Sutton Estate, are a series of 14 residential buildings in Chelsea, London, U.K.
Metropolitan Thames Valley, formed from the merge of Metropolitan Housing Trust and Thames Valley Housing Association in 2018, is a housing association (HA) in the United Kingdom with origins back to the 1950s. The Trust manages nearly 38,000 homes and is based in Southgate, London. Metropolitan is a member of the National Housing Federation and the G15 group comprising London’s largest housing associations.
Onward is a housing association and affordable housing provider operating in North West England and based in Liverpool.
Notting Hill Genesis (NHG) is a housing association formed in April 2018 by the merger of Notting Hill Housing and Genesis Housing Association. Notting Hill Genesis’ primary purpose is to work in the community to provide decent and affordable homes for lower-income households.
Affordable housing is housing that is deemed affordable to those with a median household income as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. A general rule is no more than 30% of gross monthly income should be spent on housing, to be considered affordable as the challenges of promoting affordable housing varies by location.
Anchor Hanover Group, trading as Anchor, is the largest provider of specialist housing and care for older people in England. It was formed in November 2018 when Anchor Trust and Hanover Housing Association merged. Its main office is in Bradford.
Invitation Homes Inc. is a public company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. It is headquartered in the Comerica Bank Tower in Dallas, Texas. Dallas B. Tanner is chief executive officer. As of 2017, the company was reportedly the largest owner of single-family rental homes in the United States. As of July 2024, the company owned about 84,000 rental homes in 16 markets. Seventeen percent of their rental income is from California.
