Assessing housing problems and identifying housing needs
2.6 Developing a strategy for addressing local housing problems requires an understanding of the local housing context. This means considering how the housing system operates and how well it serves, or will serve, its users.
2.7 Key questions are:
What housing needs and demands do we know exist, or are likely to emerge in the future?
How well placed is the current housing provision to meet these needs and demands?
Are current suppliers and current housing products and services well structured in terms of the requirements of households?
Is the existing stock (public and private) being managed to best effect, and are there management solutions based on that stock to existing or emerging housing problems?
2.8 These questions are not straightforward, because a housing system is complicated with many possible connections and factors to consider. Also, different interests will legitimately have different perceptions of the nature of the problem and of the required solution.
2.9 It is important that the development and implementation of a LHS involves those whose interests are affected by it for it to be meaningful and deliverable. To this end a shared understanding of the different interests needs to be reached albeit that not every interest can be reconciled.
2.10 It is not possible therefore to specify in a detailed, prescriptive way all of the steps to take in analysing the operation of the housing system.
