Frances Heywood

Adaptation: Altering the House to Restore the Home

A research project into the effectiveness of housing adaptations found some high levels of satisfaction but also examples where considerable expenditure had produced ineffective or even harmful outcomes. An analysis of the ethnographic material suggested that failure to take into account the meaning of home to those receiving adaptations was a cause of wasted expenditure. Alterations to the home that produced an unacceptable image of self that did not restore privacy and a sense of primal security, nor respect the respondents control within their home, all produced unsatisfactory results. There was also evidence that disregard of home as a base for relationships and for childhood and a lack of understanding of the nodal nature of home and the importance of rootedness all had consequences in determining whether investment was efficient. This study lends weight to the case for including ‘meaning of home’ factors routinely in housing research.

The health outcomes of housing adaptations

In 1999–2000 a team of professionals and researchers carried out the largest research study so far undertaken with recipients of housing adaptations in England and Wales to discover how effectively the adaptations had achieved their objectives. Amongst the findings was evidence that well‐designed adaptations had beneficial, and/or preventative effects on both physical and mental health; that these benefits were long‐term and that they extended beyond the disabled person to help the health of other family members. The evidence presented is linked with key themes from other research to trace in detail the pathways that lead from unadapted or badly adapted housing to mental and physical ill health. It is suggested that these themes, including the meaning of home and the concept of intrusion are vital to understanding how health gains may be achieved through adaptation, and are useful and relevant to the broader debate on links between housing and health.In 1999–2000 a team of professionals and researchers carried out the largest research study so far undertaken with recipients of housing adaptations in England and Wales to discover how effectively the adaptations had achieved their objectives. Amongst the findings was evidence that well‐designed adaptations had beneficial, and/or preventative effects on both physical and mental health; that these benefits were long‐term and that they extended beyond the disabled person to help the health of other family members. The evidence presented is linked with key themes from other research to trace in detail the pathways that lead from unadapted or badly adapted housing to mental and physical ill health. It is suggested that these themes, including the meaning of home and the concept of intrusion are vital to understanding how health gains may be achieved through adaptation, and are useful and relevant to the broader debate on links between housing and health.

Understanding needs: a starting point for quality

Before good quality housing design can occur, the needs of human beings have to be properly understood. Drawing on a research study into the effectiveness of housing adaptations for disabled people, the paper looks at the human needs revealed by adaptations recipients when they described either satisfaction or disappointment with the work done. A model of need originally proposed by Winfield, a partner in the research, is built upon to include extra factors. The evidence suggests that material needs are not always the most important, and that need for such things as dignity, control or the need to play may take precedence over needs for access or safety. At present however, models of housing need, whether for disabled or non‐disabled people, take little account of what is known of human need.

A life-time of inequality: a structural analysis of housing careers and issues facing older private tenants

While the majority of households in England have become homeowners at the turn of the 21st century, some older people still struggle on low incomes in the less privileged sector of private renting. This article first explores the intertwining of the history of housing policy and provision with the lifecourse histories of individuals, seeking to describe the reasons why some older people are in the private rented sector. It then presents research findings that revealed how some older private tenants experienced different types and degrees of harassment and abuse by their landlords, from verbal and financial abuse to disrepair of property and illegal evictions. Both strands are brought together in looking beyond individual responsibility or culpability to the structural and lifecourse causes of the problems. Peoples housing choices and destinations are often shaped by a combination of their lifecourse circumstances and external (both economic and institutional) barriers. Where abuse is concerned, a two-tier tenancy system has made ‘regulated tenants’ vulnerable to their landlords; the legal remedies are endemically inappropriate; the housing benefit system is a major source of tension between landlords and tenants; and the modernised private rented sector has allowed no place for those who want secure long-term homes. In summary, this article examines how the law, housing policy and the housing market combine to produce particular problems for older private tenants.

Transformation in Russian housing: the new key roles of local authorities

Democratically elected municipal government had no housing role in the Soviet era in Russia, as all housing belonged to the central state and was administered by its local agents. After 1990, a massive privatization of housing was achieved first through the transfer of stock from industrial companies to municipalities and then through no-cost transfer of ownership to the tenants. Despite privatization, a large amount of housing stock has since been unloaded back onto municipalities who now find themselves owners of 11% of all housing in Russia (much more in some regions). The poor quality of stock and the inability of the new owners to meet maintenance costs have led to a growing housing role for local authorities, who have many new responsibilities and expectations from residents, but few resources. Although the situation has parallels in other post-socialist countries, the scale in Russia is greater, and there is no EU aid, nor any tradition either of ownership or collective responsibility. Economic crisis in Europe and a slow down in housing construction in Russia mean that new policies for rental housing are needed. This review considers historic and recent changes in housing policy in the Russian Federation in light of the emerging housing role of municipal governments. In the review, we draw on national data as well a case study of the city of Perm to illustrate the impact of this transformation. Following a national meeting of housing experts in 2011, a new Government Strategy for 2020 has been established and is also discussed.

Developing a Housing Adaptation Genome Project

Evidence about the effectiveness of housing adaptations is unsystematic, leaving large gaps in knowledge. The evidence that exists is not sufficiently compelling to attract substantial investment, and its weakness impedes evidence-based practice. In order to fill the gaps, a more systematic approach to adaptation research is needed. A housing adaptation genome project is proposed to address this problem by mapping, planning and coordinating future research. This opinion piece sets out the rationale and potential value of developing a housing adaptation genome project. It invites all stakeholders to become involved and to help to shape a more powerful approach to housing adaptation research.

Housing adaptations: Understanding their worth

Adaptations ‐ permanent or fixed alterations to make homes more suitable for disabled occupants and their families ‐ are important. A recent project has been seeking to assess their effectiveness from the point of view of the resident. The research was carried out in 1999‐2000 by teams of professionals (housing, environmental health and occupational therapy staff) working in partnership with a research co‐ordinator and with two disabled researchers. This approach generated important data and deficiencies which need to be addressed. There was one clear message from the findings: adaptations work. They improve the quality of life of the people whose homes are adapted, and they deliver on a number of key government objectives.

Home or hell: older tenants' experiences in the private rented sector

Issues raised here are drawn from the findings of a housing investigation that explored harassment and abuse of older tenants in the private rented sector. The project examined older peoples experiences and raised important links between health and housing. The article highlights financial abuse directed towards these older people and examines implications for professionals and agencies.

Adaptations: Key Evidence for Managers

Research into the effectiveness of housing adaptations (Heywood, 2001) showed how housing adaptations contribute powerfully to key national policy objectives in health and social care, but also found some tragic examples of waste. The article considers how good outcomes could be increased, by examining the management policies and practices that systemically caused some expensive adaptations to fail.

Adaptation Policies Especially for Children: Key Factors for Effective Outcomes

Good housing is vital to the well‐being of children, but disabled children are widely suffering social exclusion and deprivation of life chances through housing adaptations that are not good enough. Whereas generous provision can do immense long‐term good, adaptations that do not allow for childrens growth or development are a waste of time and money. National policy on adaptation has not so far addressed the particular needs of children. Under regulatory reform local authorities have a chance to leap ahead. A checklist to help with planning is offered.