The dictionary description of "afford" is: "to have enough money to buy or to be able to spare, give or supply". In terms of paying rent and living in "affordable housing", this word is meaningless nonsense; what is "affordable" to one person may not necessarily be affordable to another, either now or in future. In fact it is exactly the same for homeowners – the nice big house that is affordable for one person to purchase will not always be affordable to the next.
In terms of the word "social", although the dictionary gives a definition of "living in a community", it is followed by links to social security, social services, social work. Though I appreciate there are people who depend on social security, social services and social workers, linking the word "social" to housing infers that everyone living in homes provided by councils and housing associations are dependent on some kind of "social" support, which is certainly not the case.
I hope that one day somebody can answer CL Mitchell's question and come up with some new, meaningful words.
Source
Housing Today
Postscript
J D Surrey
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