It is difficult to overstate the everyday importance of home in law. Home provides the backdrop for our lives, and is often the scene or the subject of legal disputes. In addition, in recent decades there has been growing academic interest in the meaning of home, which has prompted empirical studies and theoretical exploration in a wide range of disciplines. Yet, while the authenticity of home as a social, psychological, cultural and emotional phenomenon has been recognised in other disciplines, it has not penetrated the legal domain, where the proposition that home can encapsulate meanings beyond the physical structure of the house, or the capital value it represents, continues to present conceptual difficulties. This book focuses on the competing interests of creditors who lend money against the security of the property and the occupiers who dwell in the property, in the context of possession actions. By mapping the concept of home as it has evolved in other disciplines against existing legal frameworks, Conceptualising Home examines the possibilities for developing a coherent concept of home in law.

Prizes

Winner of Society of Legal Scholars Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship 2007 (UK)

Despite the narrowness of the focus, the ground covered is impressive. Fox draws on empirical research and philosophical arguments with equal facility. Conceptualising Home is a fascinating read that challenges fundamental assumptions about the desirability of home ownership and exposes key contradictions in legal policy. It deserves to be widely read. Rebecca Probert Child and Family Law Quarterly 1 June 2008

Lorna Fox O'Mahony is Professor of Law and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Essex. She was previously Professor of Law at Durham Law School.