The growth of the private rented sector has been a defining feature of the housing market since the early 2000s. From housing 10% of households in 2000, it has grown to house 19% of households according to the latest English Housing Survey. It has also played an important role in absorbing much of the pressure on our supply-constrained housing market.
While national figures are useful for overall market trends, they do not account for the many different sub-markets in the private rented sector. The sector has expanded beyond its perceived traditional student and young professional market and now houses a wide range of people. Tenants in the sector come from a range of backgrounds, affluence levels, household type, age, and jobs. The sector now houses wealthy foreign students and income-rich expatriates, young professional sharers and couples, families with children, migrant workers, pensioners and many others. All these groups have both different and overlapping motivations for renting, issues with the current market and desires for their future.
Whether approaching the private rented sector as a developer, investor, policy maker or other interested party, it is important to keep all these sub-markets in mind. A development, investment or policy that works for one sub-market may not be appropriate for another.
via Rental Britains.
