THE SALE OF COUNCIL HOUSING IN THE INTERWAR PERIOD

This paper examines the sale of council housing between the wars and d iscusses the implications which findings on early council house series have for an understanding of the owner occupied market at a critical period of its development. The paper first looks at the sales policy i n England and Scotland and then focuses on Edinburgh, where, because o f the political constitution of the Corporation, sales were actively e ncouraged. There then follows an analysis of the class structure of te nants and owners on the main 1919 Act estates in the city. The relucta nce of sitting tenants to purchase council houses, together with infor mation on their alternative choices, supports the argument that the mo ve into owner occupation at this time was not the result of an innate desire to own but was a rational decision. What was important were the relative costs of renting and buying, and the attractiveness and avai lability of owner occupied housing compared with housing in other tenu res.