Unit name | Housing Law and Policy |
---|---|
Unit code | LAWD30111 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
Unit director | Professor. Cowan |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites | |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
In this unit, the uneven relationship between housing law and policy is developed throughout. We look at their interaction and difficulties which each provides for the other. Although the expectation is that change in law will change practice, this is rarely born out in the everyday practices of housing management, finance and development. The unit examines the following topics: the development of housing; regulation of housing by central and local government as well as trade associations; access to housing homelessness, housing registers, rules for asylum-seekers; and the development of rights in housing, looking particularly at controls on the behaviour of occupants and their housing provider.
By the end of the unit, a successful student will be able to explain the differences between and within each of the housing tenures; how housing tenure is regulated; the mechanisms of access to each housing tenure; and occupiers rights and responsibilities in relation to their use of housing. In addition, students will be expected to appreciate how each element interacts with and affects other parts through an appreciation of the current position as well as its history. The unit is doctrinal, contextual and socio-legal, so students will be able to appreciate the conjunctions and disjunctions between housing law and policy, as well as the spontaneous connnections which are made in practice. The critical question often is the diversity of ways in which formal law overlaps with and influences on-the-ground practice, and students should be able to reflect on this question as the unit progresses.
The coursework will be made up of solely essay type questions, designed to assess both whether students were able to appreciate and apply the law and policy across the breadth of the syllabus, as well as whether they were able to think critically about it.
Nine two hour Seminars
Two pieces of coursework, 2500 words each.
D. Cowan, Housing Law and Policy, Cambridge: CUP, 2011