The costs of unsustainable home ownership in Britain

This paper examines the costs of unsustainable home ownership in Britain as manifested through mortgage arrears and possessions. It suggests that ther e are a widely drawn set of costs that have an impact on a range of differe nt actors and institutions, and offers a simple conceptual framework for de veloping an analysis of such costs. Further, the paper suggests that an exa mination of these costs has the potential to contribute to some key debates within social policy, not least to a series of issues about the developmen t and maintenance of social and economic inequality. This claim is illustra ted via an analysis of the financial costs of arrears and possession. The p aper concludes that the financial losses incurred cannot be regarded as mar ginal either in terms of the number of people affected, the sums of money i nvolved or the continuing social disadvantages that follow possession. The article concludes with a discussion of whether these issues can be regarded as 'yesterday's' problem or whether they should be viewed as a continuing feature of the contemporary social and economic landscape.