Analysing a diverse range of sources (from archives to micro-blogs, observation of housing providers, and interviews with shared owners), the authors explain the significance of the things (from the formal documents like leases, to odd materials like sweet wrappers and cigarette butts) commonly found in the narratives around shared ownership which are used to construct it as private ownership in everyday life. Ultimately, they uncover how this dream of ownership can become tarnished when people’s identities as‘owners’ come under threat, and as such, these findings will provide fascinating insight into the intricacies of so-called home ownership for scholars of Law, Criminology, and Sociology.
Dave Cowan is Professor of Law and Policy at the University of Bristol, UK.
Helen Carr is Professor of Law at the University of Kent, UK.
Alison Wallace is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Housing Policy, University of York, UK.