The Housing Act 1949 was a British
Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
which enabled local authorities to acquire homes for improvement or conversion with 75%
Exchequer
In the civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's '' current account'' (i.e., money held from taxation and other government revenu ...
grants. It also bestowed upon local authorities a wide range of useful powers, such as to provide restaurants or canteens and laundry facilities for tenants of municipal flats and housing estates, and to sell furniture to them. The legislation also removed the restriction imposed upon local authorities by previous pieces of housing legislation which limited them to providing housing for working-class people only. The aim of this change was to allow local authorities to develop mixed estates of houses of more varied types and sizes, thereby attracting all income groups. In addition, housing improvement grants for private landlords and owner-occupiers were introduced under the Act. According to
Norman Ginsburg, this piece of legislation was the first example of a "welfarist" policy in respect of owner-occupiers, as local authorities were to direct these grants towards bringing properties up to a sixteen-point standard.
See also
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Welfare state
A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equita ...
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National Insurance Act 1911
The National Insurance Act 1911 created National Insurance, originally a system of health insurance for industrial workers in Great Britain based on contributions from employers, the government, and the workers themselves. It was one of the foun ...
Notes
{{Housing in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1949
Public housing in the United Kingdom
Housing in the United Kingdom