100 years in council housing
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Addison Act which paved the way for councils to build social housing on a large scale.
In the autumn edition of Homefront, we celebrate Sutton’s proud legacy in council housing and the borough’s ‘Ambitious for Sutton’ programme to not only offer high-quality accommodation but also enhance our communities.
In 1919, after the First World War came to an end, most working people lived in cheaply built and poor quality homes among factories. The appalling conditions and huge demand for housing led to the promise of “homes fi t for heroes” for the soldiers returning from war.
The Housing Act, which became known as the ‘Addison Act’ after its author Dr Addison, was the first law to give local authorities responsibility for providing good-quality rented homes that ordinary people could afford.
We have continued to build council housing over the years and are now proud to manage 6000 rented council homes, as well as 1500 leasehold properties.