Has the revival in the Scottish private rented sector since the millennium achieved maturity?

Abstract

The paper presents a framework for assessing maturity of the private rented sector (PRS) that is tested by reference to a study of Edinburgh set within a Scottish context. The mature market framework is developed by reference to investment theory and comparison with established PRSs in Europe. The PRS is accepted to a degree by users, the government, the wider community and investors. However, the PRS still lacks complete acceptance among tenants and fiscal changes have reduced its financial attractiveness to landlords. Recent Scottish legislation has brought greater regulation that has favoured tenants. There is also little evidence of acceptance by institutional investors. The study therefore finds the case for maturity is unproven, although some subsectors are more mature than others. From a housing system perspective PRS maturity is a function of how the state frames the interaction between private markets and public provision, particularly in countries like the UK which retain a significant sized social sector.