SOCIAL-STRATIFICATION AND HOUSING MOBILITY

This paper examines the extent to which housing tenure constitutes an enduring aspect of social inequality in relation to theories of re-str atification and the supposed decline of social class divisions. It use s an analysis of housing mobility based upon a survey of council tenan ts carried out in the inner London Borough of Camden and it looks at t he housing tenure destinations of the tenants' adult 'children' who ha ve left the parental home. The largest tenure of destination was owner occupation, whilst just over a third of the 'children' were local aut hority or housing association tenants. This indicates that an inter-ge nerational, social renting 'underclass' has not so far developed, cont rary to the re-stratification theories. However, a higher proportion o f the younger than the older 'children' were tenants of social rented housing. The relative impact of class and household employment pattern s on housing mobility is considered. The paper concludes by arguing th at social class is of continued importance in terms of understanding p atterns of housing mobility.