Text: “Patterns of housing in Britain”

Ex. 1. Read and translate the text.

Nearly 70 per cent of people in Britain live in their own homes, about one-fifth live in property rented from local councils or registered landlords and ten per cent live in privately rented accommodation. The figures vary with different ages (the figure for 16-24 year-olds in private rented accommodation was nearly 40 per cent in 2000). The total number of dwellings is nearly 25 million and houses are much more common than flats (the ratio is approximately four to one). Nearly two-thirds of homes in England were built after 1945.

The number of houses being built and the number of people who own their own homes have both increased. In 1951 only 4 million dwellings were owned by the people who lived in them; by 2000 it was more than 16 million and still rising. Under the Conservative government in the 1980s many people who previously rented their homes from the local council were given the opportunity to buy them. It is generally cheaper in the long term to buy a home than to rent one but purchasers need to find a deposit in order to get a mortgage and for many young people buying a house is impossible because they are too expensive. This is especially true in some parts of England, particularly the southeast, and the selling-off of council property has reduced the amount of cheap housing available. House prices tend to adjust according to how much money people are earning (with occasional booms' in property prices). In Britain the cost of buying somewhere to live varies considerably according to the area.

Buying a house is a large financial investment for many people and the majority buy their homes with a mortgage loan from a building society or bank. The loan is repaid in monthly instalments over a period of twenty years or more. Some people rent or buy accommodation through housing associations, which provide a financial alternative to the mortgage system. There has also been an increase in the amount of accommodation for single householders, particularly older people, as the number of pensioners has increased. Accommodation known as 'sheltered' housing provides homes (with some degree of assistance) for elderly and disabled people.

The standard of housing has improved but while most of the old slum areas in cities have been cleared, many of the large square blocks of flats which replaced them as part of the high-rise housing programme of the 1960s have been criticized as being badly designed and built. Many have now been pulled down and replaced with low-rise housing. Big building programmes for some areas in the south of England began towards the end of the 1990s.

Discussion

Ex. 1. Answer the questions.

1. What are the three types of housing mentioned?

2. What is the ratio of houses to flats in Britain?

3. What has happened to home ownership in Britain?

4. What sort of people in the UK are most and least likely to own their houses?

5. Explain the following: sheltered housing, a mortgage, a slum area.

Ex. 2.Work in pairs.

1. What differences are there between housing in Britain and in your country?

2. What sort of British people are most likely to own their homes? What reasons can you think of?