Tenancy agreements and leases

Social reformers at the turn of the C20 elided the problems of overcrowding and poor sanitation with home-based work. The highly regulated 'model housing' that replaced the East End slums was used as a tool for social control. This resulted in home-based work was prohibited. This prohibition is still generally in place in social housing in the UK today, despite the momentous social and technological changes that have taken place in the intervening century. Many tenancy agreements and leases in the private sector also include clauses that prohibit or discourage home-based work.

The 2010 UK Coalition government has, however, pledged to lift the ban on residents of social housing starting businesses in their own homes. This makes design for home-based work a live policy issue.  



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