Description

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2022, METRO, EVENING STANDARD, REFINERY29, COSMOPOLITAN

‘A must-read’ Cosmopolitan

‘A major new book on the history and politics of renting’ Evening Standard

‘There is nobody better placed to write a book that tells the stories of “Britain’s housing shame”‘ Metro

Tony is facing eviction instead of enjoying retirement; Limarra isn’t ‘homeless enough’ to get help from the council; and for Kelly and her asthmatic son Morgan, another new rented house is a matter of life and death. This is twenty-first century Britain, where millions are forced into the private rental sector – a sector that creates profit for landlords, not safe and stable homes for tenants.

In this fierce and moving account, journalist Vicky Spratt traces decades of bad policy decisions to show how and why the British dream of homeownership has withered and the safety net of social housing has broken. Through the lives of those in the renting trap, she illuminates the ways this crisis is devastating our health, communities and political landscape. But, as the Covid epidemic showed, there are also real, radical steps we can take to give everyone the chance of a good home.

Publisher Review

"I really haven't a clue how to set about the job." Harold Macmillan committed those words to his diary in 1951, shortly after Winston Churchill asked him to sort out Britain's housing crisis. Macmillan lacked the counsel of Vicky Spratt. * The Times * A must-read that explores the housing crisis and its devastating impact on our health, communities and political landscape. * Cosmopolitan * A major new book on the history and politics of renting * Evening Standard * There is nobody better placed to write a book that tells the stories of 'Britain's housing shame' * Metro *