Private renting is an increasingly important part of the UK's housing system. The owner-occupation rate has begun to fall after decades of growth, as access to home ownership remains too expensive for many households. Yet Buy to Let has also been adversely affected by aspects of the financial crisis and the sector as a whole remains highly dependent on government through housing allowances. Private renting may have to substitute for a significant part of the owner-occupied sector for years to come and may provide a better option for many households. On the other hand social housing is moving towards an 'affordable rents' regime which in some cases may compete for similar households—what changes in policy and culture will be required? Housing policy has long focused on increasing the role of institutional investors and providing a wider range of tenure relationships than those traditionally offered by individual landlords, but so far major changes have not been achieved. Given the consequences of the financial crisis and last year's change of government, his was a useful time to bring together existing knowledge about the private rented sector and what might work for the future, and in particular to look at the lessons that can be learned from other countries.
This HEIF 4 series of workshops, international conference and edited publication focused on the lessons the UK can learn from those countries where the private rented sector houses a larger percentage of households and about how to achieve and maintain a sustainable PRS. Each of the event and publication links are below:
Workshops 1 & 2:
The Revival of Private Renting in the UK/ England's Private Rented Sector: Lessons from Abroad
International Conference & Workshop 3:
The Private Rented Sector in the UK: bringing together ideas from across and beyond Europe
Final Seminar:
Towards a Sustainable Private Rented Sector
Book to Download:
Towards a Sustainable Private Rented Sector