Policy Press
Two Private renting in the 21st century: lessons from the last decade of the 20th century
Abstract
This chapter examines changes to the supply side of the private rented sector since rent deregulation in 1989 and speculates about likely trends in the first decade of this century. It focuses on the trend in overall supply, the extent to which there have been significant changes in ownership, and the extent to which landlords have been earning competitive investment returns.
There are six sections:
-
government policy aims in relation to the supply side;
-
the nature of the supply side in the two decades before deregulation;
-
specific initiatives designed to increase corporate ownership and their impact;
-
evidence about the way the supply side changed in the 1990s in general;
-
evidence about rates of return;
-
the implications of this evidence for the initial years of the new century.
All main political parties now accept that the sector provides an important means of housing those who benefit from the flexibility that private renting can provide and those who do not want to tie up their savings in home ownership (Best et al, 1992). These include first time entrants to the housing market, including students and other newly formed households, as well as those who need to change their housing at short notice, such as job movers and people whose personal relationships have broken down. Flexibility can also improve the performance of the micro and macro economy by facilitating the movement of people into areas with labour shortages, and also by giving more housing choices to many young households who would otherwise have to borrow heavily to buy their own homes. If they buy instead, their high levels of indebtedness can significantly influence consumer demand when interest rates change, and hence amplify business cycles.
Abstract
This chapter examines changes to the supply side of the private rented sector since rent deregulation in 1989 and speculates about likely trends in the first decade of this century. It focuses on the trend in overall supply, the extent to which there have been significant changes in ownership, and the extent to which landlords have been earning competitive investment returns.
There are six sections:
-
government policy aims in relation to the supply side;
-
the nature of the supply side in the two decades before deregulation;
-
specific initiatives designed to increase corporate ownership and their impact;
-
evidence about the way the supply side changed in the 1990s in general;
-
evidence about rates of return;
-
the implications of this evidence for the initial years of the new century.
All main political parties now accept that the sector provides an important means of housing those who benefit from the flexibility that private renting can provide and those who do not want to tie up their savings in home ownership (Best et al, 1992). These include first time entrants to the housing market, including students and other newly formed households, as well as those who need to change their housing at short notice, such as job movers and people whose personal relationships have broken down. Flexibility can also improve the performance of the micro and macro economy by facilitating the movement of people into areas with labour shortages, and also by giving more housing choices to many young households who would otherwise have to borrow heavily to buy their own homes. If they buy instead, their high levels of indebtedness can significantly influence consumer demand when interest rates change, and hence amplify business cycles.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables and figures v
- Notes on contributors vii
- Preface xi
- The new private rented sector 1
- Private renting in the 21st century: lessons from the last decade of the 20th century 19
- Housing benefit and social security 31
- Rents and returns in the residential lettings market 43
- The private rented sector in rural areas 65
- Rental housing supply in rural Scotland: the role of private landowners 79
- The nature of tenancy relationships: landlords and young people 95
- Unlawful eviction and harassment 109
- Changing Rooms: the legal and policy implications of a burgeoning student housing market in Leicester 123
- The Scottish system of licensing houses in multiple occupation 137
- Housing conditions in the private rented sector within a market framework 153
- Room for improvement: the impact of the local authority grant system 177
- New law, new policy 189
- References 203
- Index 217
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables and figures v
- Notes on contributors vii
- Preface xi
- The new private rented sector 1
- Private renting in the 21st century: lessons from the last decade of the 20th century 19
- Housing benefit and social security 31
- Rents and returns in the residential lettings market 43
- The private rented sector in rural areas 65
- Rental housing supply in rural Scotland: the role of private landowners 79
- The nature of tenancy relationships: landlords and young people 95
- Unlawful eviction and harassment 109
- Changing Rooms: the legal and policy implications of a burgeoning student housing market in Leicester 123
- The Scottish system of licensing houses in multiple occupation 137
- Housing conditions in the private rented sector within a market framework 153
- Room for improvement: the impact of the local authority grant system 177
- New law, new policy 189
- References 203
- Index 217
