Policy Press
Seven The nature of tenancy relationships: landlords and young people
Abstract
This book is concerned with the private rented sector (PRS) in a new century. However, the focus of this chapter is upon ‘the oldest, most common, and perhaps because of it, the most neglected of contractual relations’ (Englander, 1983, p 4) – those between private landlord and tenant. This chapter is specifically concerned with current relationships in the PRS between the main providers of accommodation, that is, individuals operating on a small scale for whom landlordism is not their main occupation, and the main consumers of accommodation – young people under the age of 25. The discussion presented here, rather than exploring exceptional or extreme behaviour in the sector, centres upon the typicalities of day-to-day relationships between the parties and how they manage interactions and exchanges with each other.
The role that the PRS has played in accommodating British households has changed significantly during the 20th century. At the beginning, the PRS catered for generalised housing need with 90 per cent of the population renting privately (Kemp, 1992). However, the sector has declined considerably over the century. The reasons for this decline are widely documented elsewhere (see, for example, Kemp, 1997) and it is not within the scope of this chapter to detail the trend other than to highlight that in 1998/99 the sector comprised approximately 10 per cent of all households (McConaghy et al, 2000) and now performs a specialised role in providing accommodation to young and mobile households, particularly those on low incomes (Kleinman et al, 1996; Rugg, 1999).
Following successive deregulation in the 1988 and 1996 Housing Acts, the PRS has become increasingly regarded as a transitional and residual sector (Rugg, 1999) particularly in association with its role of housing single young people and vulnerable households.
Abstract
This book is concerned with the private rented sector (PRS) in a new century. However, the focus of this chapter is upon ‘the oldest, most common, and perhaps because of it, the most neglected of contractual relations’ (Englander, 1983, p 4) – those between private landlord and tenant. This chapter is specifically concerned with current relationships in the PRS between the main providers of accommodation, that is, individuals operating on a small scale for whom landlordism is not their main occupation, and the main consumers of accommodation – young people under the age of 25. The discussion presented here, rather than exploring exceptional or extreme behaviour in the sector, centres upon the typicalities of day-to-day relationships between the parties and how they manage interactions and exchanges with each other.
The role that the PRS has played in accommodating British households has changed significantly during the 20th century. At the beginning, the PRS catered for generalised housing need with 90 per cent of the population renting privately (Kemp, 1992). However, the sector has declined considerably over the century. The reasons for this decline are widely documented elsewhere (see, for example, Kemp, 1997) and it is not within the scope of this chapter to detail the trend other than to highlight that in 1998/99 the sector comprised approximately 10 per cent of all households (McConaghy et al, 2000) and now performs a specialised role in providing accommodation to young and mobile households, particularly those on low incomes (Kleinman et al, 1996; Rugg, 1999).
Following successive deregulation in the 1988 and 1996 Housing Acts, the PRS has become increasingly regarded as a transitional and residual sector (Rugg, 1999) particularly in association with its role of housing single young people and vulnerable households.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- 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
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- 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
