Bridging housing studies and social policy, this book analyses competing interpretations of the role and value of social housing in the UK. The growing demand for social housing is one of the most pressing public issues in Britain today, and this book analyses its role and value. Anchored in a discussion of different approaches to the meaning and measurement of wellbeing, the author explores how these perspectives influence our views of the meaning, value and purpose of social housing in today's welfare state. The closing arguments of the book suggest a more universalist approach to social housing, designed to meet the common needs of a wide range of households, with diverse socioeconomic characteristics, but all sharing the same equality of social status.