Can this ‘ethical capitalist’ solve the UK’s social housing crisis? | Richard Partington

Julian Richer, a landlord himself, says markets have created only disaster and the nation must shift from its focus on ownership

Britain is a nation obsessed with home ownership. A fundamental necessity for all turned commodity to speculate on, it is featured on daytime TV as entertainment, the sure-fire profit-spinner open to anyone.

The truth, as we all know, is that the prospect of home ownership is drifting increasingly out of reach for millions. Figures released last week show that as few as 7% of local authorities in England and Wales have homes that can be bought for less than five times workers' earnings and are therefore deemed affordable". In 1997 the figure was 88%.