The Structural Neglect of Disabled Housing Association Tenants in England: Politics, Economics and Discourse

In England, almost half of all housing association households have a disabled member who may need home adaptations to improve their health and well-being. Resources for funding adaptation work are, however, inadequate; responsibility is contested and government has repeatedly refused to give clear guidance. The problems have been exacerbated by the increasingly hybrid nature of a 'sector' too diverse for any single solution. The research on which this paper is based found that the topic was never on the agenda of the Housing Corporation at board level and that academics carrying out major reviews also failed to consider it. Using theories of agenda setting and models of power and discourse, the authors consider the findings as a case study. It illustrates how the unseen exercise of power in housing policy and housing research, through agendas that prioritise economic and political factors, excludes all other considerations, especially the needs of existing tenants.