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Patterns of Housing
Over half the people in Britain live in their own houses, about a third live in property rented from the local council and one in eight live in privately-rented accommodation. The total number of dwellings is more than 22 million and houses are much more common than flats (the ratio is approximately four to one). More than 40 per cent of families live in a home built after 1945.
Although the number of houses built during the 1980s went down (es pecially in the public housing sector traditionally provided by local author ities) the number of people owning their own homes has more than trebled in the last thirty-five years: in 1951 only 4 million dwellings were owned by the people who lived in them; by 1988 it was more than 13 million and still rising. Under the Conservative government many people who previously rented their homes from the local council were given the opportunity to buy them. There are tax incentives for people who buy their own homes.
Buying a house is a large financial investment for many people and the majority buy their homes with a mortgage loan from a building soci ety or bank. The loan is repaid in monthly instalments over a period of twenty years or more. Some people rent or buy accommodation through housing associations which provide a financial alternative to the mort gage system. There has also been an increase in the amount of accom modation for older people, as the number of pensioners increases. Ac commodation known as 'sheltered' housing provides homes (with some degree of assistance) for elderly and disabled people.
The standard of housing has improved but while most of the old slum areas in cities have been cleared, many of the large square blocks of flats which replaced them as part of the high-rise housing programme of the 1960s have been criticized as being badly designed and built. Some have been pulled down and replaced with low-rise housing. How ever, because fewer houses were built and more council property was sold off, there were fewer houses available, especially for young people and those who could not afford a mortgage. House prices tend to adjust according to how much money people are earning (with occasional 'booms' in property prices): in Britain the cost of buying somewhere to live varies considerably according to the area.
Questions.
1. What are the three types of housing mentioned? 2. What is the ratio ot houses to flats in Britain? 3. What has happened to home ownership in
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Britain? 4. What is happening to housing rented from local authorities in Britain? 5. Explain the following: 'sheltered' housing, a mortgage, a slum area. 6. What differences are there between housing in Britain and in your country?
Somewhere to Live
There are many different types of housing in Britain, ranging from the tradi tional thatched country cottage to flats in the centre of towns. Houses are often described by the period in which they were built (for example, Geor gian, Victorian, 1930s, or post-war) and whether they are terraced^ semide tached or detached. As well as preferring houses to flats, for many' people a garden is also an important consideration. Although Britain is relatively small the areas where people live vary considerably: there are new towns and inner cities, suburbs, commuter belts and the open countryside.
Paying for the home you live in is the biggest single item in the budget of most families and getting on the housing 'ladder' сап be dif ficult. First-time house buyers on an average salary may have to borrow 90 or even 100 per cent of the value of the property they want to buy. It is possible for people to borrow up to three times their annual income or sometimes even more. As prices vary, the cost of a six-bedroom farm house in a remote part of Scotland is about the same as a small! flat in an expensive area of west London. People moving from the north to the south of Britain have to pay a lot more for the same type of house.
The average family moves once every seven years and the process of moving involves an estate agent (responsible for advertising houses for sale), a building society, bank or insurance company for the finance, and a solicitor to handle the legal aspects of the buying and sealing. The size of a house or flat in Britain still tends to be measured by the number of bedrooms rather than the area in square metres. In keeping with a nation of home owners, gardening is a popular spare time activity.
Questions.
1. What are the main types of houses in Britain? 2. How much do some people borrow to buy a house? 3. What does the text say about the differences in house prices in Britain? 4. How often do people move house? What other people are involved if you want to move house? 5. How is the size of a house still measured in Britain? 6. What type of house would you prefer to live in? Give your reasons.
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