Originally published in 1979, these essays provide a guide to the labyrinth of issues which together made up ‘housing policy’ in the late 20^th Century. The focus is on the practical and political difficulties of devising measures which meet policy objectives – difficulties which are just as prevalent in the 21^st Century. The search for ‘comprehensive strategies’ is shown to be a vain one: given the number of relevant issues and their complexity, only an incremental approach is practicable. Major issues are discussed in the context of an analysis of the institutional, historical and financial framework within which housing policy is formulated and operated.