Understanding the influence tenure has on meanings of home and homemaking practices

Abstract

Within Anglophone societies, the concept of home is closely tied to homeownership, and consequently, importance is placed on owneroccupied tenure in the meaning and making of home. However, understanding home in this way is problematic because it excludes the significant proportion of people who rent both publicly and privately. This article provides an overview of the small amount of literature that examines the impact tenure has on the meaning and making of home within Anglophone societies, in particular, Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Two key arguments are made. Firstly, tenure laws and policies make an important contribution in shaping how we understand, experience, and make home, yet tenure is often overlooked in literature that explores theories of home and homemaking. Secondly, the small amount of literature that does examine the experiences of renters focuses on how tenancy law could negatively impact or restrict renters within their homes. The cultures and practices of homemaking among renters are, for the most part, overlooked. Given the recent changes in housing trends, now, more than ever, it seems pertinent that we begin to understand some of the ways tenure might influence meanings of home and homemaking practices.

Underinsurance as adaptation: Household agency in places of marketisation and financialisation

“…Renting has generally been assumed to be a temporary and marginal occurrence. However, recent trends are drawing attention to this tenure type as socially and economically significant and influential (Bate, 2018). Over the past decade, in Australia, the rental sector has grown by 38%, and 2.1 million households are now renting (Hulse et al 2018).…”

“…For renters, and as noted above, the discretionary nature of property insurance can also be influenced by a historically constituted sense of transience (Bate, 2018). These households may have fewer assets because of frequent moves (note lease length above) and/or devalue their possessions when compared to housing assets.…”

“…In countries such as Australia, the UK and the USA, owning a home has been both the norm and the ideal (Bate, 2018). This has informed the focus of housing tenure research and policy, with ownership receiving far more elucidation, scrutiny and intervention than renting: ‘little attention has been given to the cultures and practices of homemaking among renters’ (Bate, 2018: 11). Renting has generally been assumed to be a temporary and marginal occurrence.…”

Performing “home” in the sharing economies of tourism: the Airbnb experience in Sofia, Bulgaria

“…In the last two decades, the global struggles over housing and associated practices of displacement and dispossession are also testimonies of the un-making of home spaces (Brickell et al 2017). On-going external pressures such as the affordability of housing, housing instability, and lack of autonomy may also affect whether or not one feels at home (Bate 2017;Lloyd & Vasta 2017). For example, under the pressure of tourist investors, long-term tenants in Barcelona have dealt with expulsions, harassment, rent increase, and affordability problems (CocolaGant 2016).…”

Keep off the grass! New directions for geographies of yards and gardens

“…From analysis of gardening and neighborhood green spaces, Blomley () shows how private property is not necessarily a foregone conclusion, but a contradictory and at times shifting terrain of individual and collective interests and practices. Variegated land tenure in relation to yard practices could also be better understood (Bate, ).…”