Embedding financialisation: A policy review of the English Affordable Homes Programme

Decent, affordable housing continues to be a major concern for policy makers, providers and society at large. This paper contributes to the debate over the future of social housing in England by reviewing the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP). The AHP (2011-15) saw the level of grant funding reduced dramatically; with the shortfall to be filled from housing associations own resources, increased rents and borrowing. To understand the implications of the AHP this paper utilises the concept of financialisation. Financialisation is a multi-faceted process that seeks to explain the increased role and power of the financial markets in society. Specifically the paper shows that the AHP leads to increased debt levels in the social housing sector, is predicated on short-termism and accumulation by dispossession. Finally, by employing financialisation the paper also addresses debates about the nature of housing policy and how it can best be conceptualised.