Social Disparities in Private Renting Amongst Young Families in England and Wales, 2001-2011

Rory Coulter

doi:10.1080/14036096.2016.1242511

Abstract

In Britain, the proportion of young families living in the private rented sector (PRS) has risen sharply in recent years. There is mounting concern that this trend could be particularly pronounced amongst less advantaged young families, who may be disproportionately channelled into relatively costly, insecure and lower quality accommodation in the PRS by growing difficulties accessing other tenures. In consequence, this paper uses the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study of England and Wales to compare how family structure and socio-economic characteristics shaped rates of private renting amongst young adults heading families in 2001 and 2011. The results show that social disparities generally increased during this period as private renting expanded most rapidly amongst some types of lone parent and amongst young adults heading couple families with a less advantaged class position. Increasing housing inequalities between young people may thus be as much a feature of “Generation Rent” as deepening divides between generations.

Highlights

British society is being reshaped by a revival of private renting
The results show that social disparities generally increased during this period as private renting expanded most rapidly amongst some types of lone parent and amongst young adults heading couple families with a less advantaged class position
Some of these pressures are affecting young people in other countries, in many parts of Europe there has been a much less marked growth of private renting in young adulthood (Lennartz, Arundel, and Ronald 2015). This indicates that institutions and structural conditions influence how young people’s housing transitions and pathways to adulthood are being reshaped in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC)

Summary

Introduction

British society is being reshaped by a revival of private renting. Between 2003 and 2014, the proportion of English households renting privately rose from 11 to 19% as mortgaged homeownership declined (DCLG 2015: Annex Table 1.1). Stock contraction means that access to the social rented sector (SRS) is increasingly restricted to only the most vulnerable, while high house prices, more stringent mortgage lending and the precariousness generated by low incomes, job insecurity and student debts constrain homeownership (Rugg and Quilgars 2015). Some of these pressures are affecting young people in other countries, in many parts of Europe there has been a much less marked growth of private renting in young adulthood (Lennartz, Arundel, and Ronald 2015). Despite some calls to foster institutional investment in private renting, much of the recent PRS growth seems to have been driven by a further influx of the non-professional landlords owning small and often highly localized portfolios who have dominated the sector for many years (Crook and Kemp 2014)

Methods

Results

Conclusion