An understanding of housing finance is essential for those studying contemporary housing issues. Finance in the form of subsidies or household income, is the lever via which policies are implemented and individual aims and ambitions realised. The importance of finance is that it makes housing consumption, housing management and housing development possible. An Introduction to Housing Finance gives an overview of financial issues in a manner that gives an accessible and relevant introduction to those beginning their studies or as a useful reference for advanced students. Finance is often seen as a difficult subject, based on economic theory, but Peter King takes an alternative political approach to housing finance. It shows housing finance as operating within open and dynamic systems where tenures, institutions and policies interact and interrelate in a complex manner. Housing finance is undergoing a period of considerable change. This text includes a detailed discussion and critique of the changes introduced and proposed by the Blair government.A series of integrated case studies run throughout the text and learning objectives, self-assessment activities and guides to further reading are included in each chapter.