Presentation given by Howard Springett, Citizens Advice, UK at a FEANTSA conference on "People who are homeless can be housed: An insight into successful practices from across Europe", Cardiff, Wales, 2008

1. UK/USA experiences last 13 yrs
• Policy of extension of home ownership
• Achieved by cheap credit plus
• Lowering credit score necessary
• Advent of Sub Prime lending plus
• Turbocharged Securitisation
• Separation of loan originator & long term
loan / note holder

2. Credit Crunch
• Set back aspirations of marginal home
owners (for our lifetimes)
• A very high cost “money trap”
• Failure of New Labour / Democrat home
ownership policy.
• Need to rebalance housing tenures away
from home ownership
• “Renting the way forward”

3. Necessities for Home Ownership
• Capital deposit
• Either capital for balance or
• Available credit (mortgage)
• For mortgage, high enough credit score

4. For the Homeless
• Access to capital, presumably shared
ownership.
• Access to credit, depends on
– credit history
– stable housing & employment history
– dynamic affordability on day 1 and for life of
loan, real income at least flat
– a willing provider, who?

5. What do the homeless want ?
real / needs.
• Home, with security of tenure
• Lowest risk
• Stability, time to get “on feet”
• Potential later flexibility
• One step at a time!

6. What do homeless want?
perceived ?
• Less discrimination
• To be like others
• Access “to asset based welfare”
• Not to be left out of wealth creation
• But a new risk - reward future
• Kiss principle, “keep it simple ------”