Private Renting in the Advanced Economies: Growth and Change in a Financialised World

The private rental housing market plays an important and growing role in the advanced economies. Providing accommodation for a wider range of households than before the global financial crisis, rental housing is also a key asset class for private individuals and companies, while the rise of Airbnb lettings has pushed up rents and reduced the number of homes available to residents. This edited collection by leading experts in the field analyses recent changes in the private rental market, using case studies from the UK, Europe, Australia and the USA, and assesses the initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Front Cover Private Renting in the Advanced Economies: Growth and Change in a Financialised World Copyright information Table of Contents List of figures, tables and boxes List of abbreviations Notes on contributors Preface 1 New trajectories in private rental housing Trends in private renting Re-growth Growth in buy-to-let landlordism Growth in large corporate landlords Residential property funds Build-to-rent Student accommodation blocks Property management Airbnb Policy concerns The COVID-19 pandemic This book References 2 Growth and change: private renting in Australia in the 21st century Introduction Changes in the size and role of the Australian private rental sector Changes in the profile of private renters Rental affordability trends and government responses Landlord investors: financing and market segments Letting and management in an era of digital technology Tax, subsidies and regulation Global financial crisis The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic Conclusion Acknowledgements Notes References 3 Rental housing dynamics and their affordability impact in the United States Introduction Physical characteristics Ownership, debt and management Household characteristics Rental affordability Key changes in rental housing Growth in renter households Growth among higher-income renters Growth in single-family rentals Emergence of large-scale owners of single-family rentals COVID-19 and rental housing Conclusion Notes References 4 The Irish rental sector and the post-homeownership society: issues and challenges Introduction The transition to a post-homeownership society The Irish private rental sector: issues and challenges Reforming the private rental sector: confronting the challenges of post-homeownership Build-to-rent and institutional investment in the private rental sector Subsidised private rental sector as a cornerstone of ‘social housing’ Partial convergence and modernisation The COVID-19 pandemic and the Irish private rental sector Conclusion Notes References 5 Private renting in England: growth, change and contestation Introduction Growth dynamics Private renters Sociodemographics Residential mobility and insecurity Rental affordability Landlords Changing ownership Investment and management Build-to-rent Taxation The COVID-19 pandemic Government support Demand, rents and arrears Investment Preliminary assessment Conclusion Notes References 6 Private renting in the Netherlands: set to grow? Introduction Limiting rent control and the role of social landlords Market shares of (de-)controlled rental dwellings and the tenants Causes of the increase in private renting Non-institutional private rental investment on the increase Institutional private rental investment on the increase Tenants and their housing costs Housing shortage and private renting ‘re-regulation’ policies Policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic Conclusion References 7 Suppressive regulation and lower political esteem: private renting in Germany at the beginning of decline Introduction Structure of supply and demand in the private rental housing market Supply side: a very large cottage industry Demand side: private renting as the most widespread tenure Emergence of today’s housing market structures Widening gap between housing demand and supply since 2005 Demand side: ever-growing demographic pressure Supply side: long-run shortfall in housing completions Growing market tension Stifling regulatory momentum Local reference rent: loss of market orientation Rent Brake: severe restraint on returns from private letting ‘Mietendeckel Berlin’: regulation taken to extremes Reallocation of modernisation costs imminent Conversion of rental apartments into condominiums even more difficult Taxation and subsidisation of rental housing facing fundamental realignment Resumption of broad-scale housing subsidisation with tried-and-tested instruments (2018–2021) A new start in housing subsidies since 2022 The COVID-19 pandemic Conclusion References 8 Private renting in Denmark: foreign investors in the crosshairs Introduction The basics: tenures, dwellings, landlords and tenants Tenure split and dwelling types Dwellings Landlords Tenants Tenure security and rent control The private tenancy Development of Danish rent control Current rent regulation Arguments for policy change Taxes and subsidies Housing benefit Prices for rental buildings: the financial crisis and beyond Affordability Disruptors: digital platforms, Airbnb, COVID Conclusion Note References 9 Norway: booming housing market and increasing small-scale landlordism Introduction Housing policy in context Type of government and welfare state regime Responsibility for housing policy Housing provision and policy Housing market Challenges in housing policy Finance, taxation and regulation Subsidies Taxation Regulation Composition of the rental market Short-term lettings Secondary properties Rental housing quality Rents and contracts Tenants in the rental sector Affordability The COVID-19 pandemic Conclusion References 10 Private rented markets in Spain and housing affordability Introduction A turning point in the downward trajectory? The private rental sector’s recent evolution in Spain Young, overburdened by debt and temporarily employed: the tenant profile in Spain Increased vulnerability of tenants in Spain A fragmented supply with emerging new players Temporary subletting: an urban dilemma Professional managers in the rented sector: reacting to the attractiveness of the sector The rented sector and the National Housing Plan (2018–2021) The regulation of the rented sector in Spain: a heated debate The rented sector and the effects of COVID-19 Conclusion Note References 11 The short-run impact of COVID-19 on the private rented sector Introduction The potential short-term impact of COVID-19 on demand and supply in the private rented sector Demand for private renting The supply of private renting The overall picture Evidence of the short-run impact of COVID-19 General approach of governments Trends in demand and rents Support for tenants and impact on arrears and evictions Evidence on investment and landlords’ returns Summary Have government policies to support the private rental sector during COVID-19 been related to types of market economy and welfare state? Conclusion References 12 Change and continuity in private rental housing Transformative change Change and continuity Rental affordability Rent control Airbnb The COVID-19 pandemic The Russian invasion of Ukraine References Index