The 'responsible' tenant and the problem of apathy

McKee, K. (2009) The 'responsible' tenant and the problem of apathy. Social Policy and Society, 8(1), pp. 25-36. (doi: 10.1017/S1474746408004557)

Abstract

In the last decade, the UK New Labour government has emphasised tenant participation in housing policy. Consequently, those individuals who decide to opt out of participation processes have been problematised as ‘apathetic’, and identified as needing to be ‘empowered’ through professional interventions. Drawing on research about community ownership in Glasgow, this paper argues that tenants' reasons for not getting involved are more than simply lack of interest. Tenants articulated an instrumental approach to participation, and rejected the conflation of tenant participation with tenant management. Practical barriers also obstructed their latent motivation.

• Item Type: Articles
• Keywords: community ownership, responsibilisation, tenant participation, social housing, Scotland
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: McKee, Dr Kimberly
• Authors: McKee, K.
• Subjects: H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences
• Research Group: Human Geography
• Journal Name: Social Policy and Society
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• ISSN: 1474-7464
• First Published: First published in Social Policy and Society 8(1):25-36
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.