Private Rental Housing Research Articles

Advance rent mobilisation strategies of graduate renters in Ghana: a submarket of the private rental housing market

The practice of advance rent, where landlords ask renters to pay a lump-sum rent covering 2 or more years, is gaining scholarly and political attention in Africa. Nevertheless, there is limited empirical research investigating how renters mobilize funds to meet this financial commitment. Existing literature suggests that renters, irrespective of their educational level, face difficulties in paying advance rent, hence compelling them to rely mainly on their bonding (family and friends) and bridging (employers and financial institutions) social capital to pay advance rent. Drawing on rational choice and social capital theories coupled with data from a novel (graduate) sub-market of Ghana’s rental housing market, this article finds that personal savings remain the most rational current and future source of funding options graduate renters draw upon to pay advance rent, albeit some still drawing on their social capital. The findings demonstrate that graduate renters do not use bonding social capital in their future mobilization strategies after they have drawn on the same in previous years, although they continue to rely on their bridging social capital and other strategies to mobilize funds for advance rent. The study suggests the need to rethink rational choice and social capital theories to incorporate inter-temporal dynamics among different social groups and to traverse the current binary conception of the rental housing market in Ghana to consider different sub-markets and how they respond to existing challenges in the housing sector.

Housing Cost Burdens and Parental Support for Young Renters in South Korea

In Korea, the housing issues faced by young renters negatively impact both their parents and themselves. This study aimed at exploring young renters’ situations whereby they receive financial support from their parents in order to pay current housing expenses, and their perception of housing cost burdens. Additionally, this study examined the influences on the reception of parental support and their perceived housing cost burdens. In February and March of 2021, an online questionnaire survey was conducted amongst young renters living independently from their parents and 385 responses from Jeonse renters and monthly renters with deposits in private rental housing units were analyzed. The major findings are as follows: (1) among the subjects, 43.4% had experienced receiving parental support in order to pay for housing expenses since their first instance of independent living, and 35.6% were still receiving parental support. (2) A discriminant model with a linear combination of the variables of age, income, residential location and rental deposit was found effective in predicting the receipt of parental support with 66.5% accuracy. (3) A linear combination of the variables of gender, rental deposit and monthly cash housing expenses was found to explain 5.8% of the total variance of perceived housing cost burdens. The results imply the necessity to expand the provision of public housing and housing subsidies to alleviate the financial burdens of young renters and their parents.

Provision and related factors of end-of-life care in elderly housing with care services in collaboration with home-visiting nurse agencies: a nationwide survey

BackgroundJapan has the largest population of older adults in the world; it is only growing as life expectancy increases worldwide. As such, solutions to potential obstacles must be studied to maintain healthy, productive lives for older adults. In 2011, the Japanese government has started a policy to increase “Elderly Housing with Care Services (EHCS)”, which is one of a private rental housing, as a place where safe and secure end-of-life care can be provided. The government expect for them to provide end-of-life care by collaborating with the Home-Visit Nursing Agencies (HVNA). The purpose of this study is to clarify the situation of the end-of-life care provision in EHCS in collaboration with HVNA and to examine the factors that associate with the provision of the end-of-life care in EHCS.MethodsA two-stage nationwide survey (fax and mail surveys) were conducted. Of the 5,172 HVNA of the National Association for Visiting Nurse Services members, members from 359 agencies visited EHCS. Logistic regression analysis was conducted with the provision of end-of-life care to EHCS in 2017 as the dependent variable, and the following as independent variables: characteristics of HVNA and EHCS; characteristics of residents; collaborations between HVNA and EHCS; and the reasons for starting home-visit nursing.ResultsOf the 342 HVNA who responded to the collaborations with EHCS, 21.6% provided end-of-life care. The following factors were significantly associated with the provision of end-of-life care to inmates in elderly care facilities: being affiliated with a HVNA, admitting many residents using long-term care insurance, collaborating with each other for more than three years, and started visiting-nurse services after being requested by a resident’s physician.ConclusionsThis study clarified the situation of the provision of end-of-life care in EHCS in collaboration with HVNA and the related factors that help in providing end-of-life care in EHCS.

Understanding discrimination effects in private rental housing

This research examines discrimination and existing policy, law and practice in Australia’s private rental sector (PRS) including the impact of informal tenancies and the increasing role of digital technologies.

Residential satisfaction of private tenants in China's superstar cities: The case of Shenzhen, China

In recent years, Chinese housing policies have been shifting from encouraging homeownership toward developing the private rented sector, especially in the superstar cities. Nevertheless, what are the target groups and characteristics of private rental housing in Chinese superstar cities, and whether the private rental housing is capable of meeting private tenants' housing needs remain unclear. This paper attempts to bridge this gap from the tenant perspective by examining the determinants of private tenants' residential satisfaction. We argue that residential satisfaction should be examined within different submarkets. By adopting the Structure of Housing Provision thesis, we identified three main sub-sectors in China's superstar cities, i.e. urban village housing, commercial rented housing, and Long-term Rented Apartment (LTRA). Based on a questionnaire survey in Shenzhen, we examined the characteristics of the three subsectors and tenants living in each sub-sector. Furthermore, we evaluated whether the residential satisfaction levels varied significantly in different sub-sectors and the determinants of residential satisfaction in each sub-sector. The results of an ANOVA showed that tenants living in commercial rented housing and LTRAs were more satisfied than those living in urban village housing. The regression results showed that the determinants of residential satisfaction vary considerably among different sub-sectors. The results of this paper can be useful not only for the landlords to improve tenants' residential satisfaction but also for policy-makers engaged in private rental market development and urban renewal.

STUDY ON THE NEW SUPPLY OF PUBLIC RENTAL HOUSING IN TAIPEI CITY, TAIWAN

This study focuses on the new supply strategy of public rental housing “Social Housing” (SH) in Taipei City. Focusing on the features of residents and rent level of SH, this study evaluates the role of SH as public rental housing comparing with the existing rental Public Housing and private rental housing. Besides, this study analyzes the locational feature of SH by focusing on the accessibility to public transportation including MRT and city bus and comparing with the existing rental Public Housing. Finally, this study summarizes the position of SH in Taipei City based on the above analysis and comparison.

Governing investors and developers: Analysing the role of risk allocation in urban development

This article argues that urban governance, and academic theorisations of it, have focused on the role and strategies of real estate developers at the expense of understanding how investors are shaped by regulatory environments. In contrast, using the case of institutional investment in London’s private rental housing (Build to Rent), in this article I argue that unpacking the private sector and the development process helps reveal different types of risk which necessitate variegated responses from within the real estate sector. In doing so, I demonstrate the complexities of the private sector in urban development, especially housing provision, and the limitations of a binary conceptualised around pro- and anti-development narratives when discussing planning decisions. Instead, I show the multiplicity of responses from within the private sector, and how these reflect particular approaches to risk management. Uncovering this helps theorise the complexities of governing housing systems and demonstrates the potential for risk-based urban governance analysis in the future.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Private Rental Housing Market in Poland: What Do Experts Say and What Do Actual Data Show?

The aim of the article is to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the level of housing rents using the example of the City of Krakow. This study is based on objective data on rental prices and subjective information obtained from real estate agents using a questionnaire survey. The research revealed that the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic actually led to a 6-7% decrease in prices in the rental market in Krakow, while at the same time the surveyed real estate agents had estimated that rents would drop by about 13%. With the second wave of the pandemic, it is possible to see that its immediate impact, i.e. between the third and fourth quarter of 2020, has led to a further 6.25% drop in rents. It should be noted that the latter decrease was very accurately predicted, both by the survey respondents and by the econometric models used. Finally, the results of the analysis also indicated that the worsening of the pandemic in the last quarter of 2020 will have a significant impact on rent levels in Krakow for all of next year. Regardless of how the economy develops, rental prices are forecast to fall further in 2021q1. However, in the subsequent quarters of 2021, rents are projected to increase, but ultimately their level will not return to pre-pandemic values even in 2021q4. The latter is likely to happen only in the second half of 2022.

Price Index for Dwelling Rents in Finland

The price index for dwelling rents in Finland have been measured from data that is collected in connection with the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The construction of index series is based on the base strategy with log-Laspeyres as the index number formula. Some problems have emerged: First, the data did not allow detailed regional classification. Second, the purpose of data collection was mainly for labour markets survey, not for dwelling rents (i.e. weighting into target population). Third, the selection of proper index number formula had not been adequately analyzed. In this study we analyze these three questions by new monthly collected data having over 400 000 observations from whole country quite representatively. The data includes dwelling rents from the Social Insurance Institution's register of housing allowances and from two major private rental housing companies. It includes government-subsidized and non-subsidized dwellings.

Housing and housing assistance pathways with companion animals: risks, costs, benefits and opportunities

This study investigated the policy and regulatory settings that shape housing options available to households that own companion animals. It considers housing and housing assistance contexts nationally across tenures, sectors (e.g. ownership, private rental housing), emergency/crisis accommodation and for diverse population groups receiving income and housing assistance support.

Private Rental Housing Residents and Their Residential Careers in Chuo Ward, Tokyo

Private Rental Housing Residents and Their Residential Careers in Chuo Ward, Tokyo

공공지원민간임대 연계형 정비사업의 활성화를 위한 용적률 인센티브에 관한 연구

공공지원민간임대 연계형 정비사업의 활성화를 위한 용적률 인센티브에 관한 연구

기업형 민간임대주택 리츠의 수익성 영향 요인 분석

The purpose of this study is to identify the influencing factors of the enterprise type rental housing REITs and draw policy implication to activate private rental housing. Two REITs that can become listed persistent REITs has been selected among the enterprise type rental housing REITs that is set as of AUG 2020. Sensitivity analysis on profitability using Monte-Carlo Simulation was performed and the result is organized as Equity IRR and average dividend yield. The factors affecting Equity IRR the most were the floor area ratio, sales price rise rate and construction cost, The factors affecting the profitability during operation stage were the initial rental fee and the interest rate at operation stage Adequate profitability for the enterprise type rental housing REITS to be listed is essential for stable and continuous supply of rental housing. To secure profitability, policies to lower interest rate at operation stage and to accept autonomous rental fee adjustment are needed.

Commentary on Housing, Health, and Well-Being in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Housing is poorly constructed for the New Zealand climate and is a major cause of poor health and premature mortality. Private rental housing is older and in poorer condition than public housing and owner-occupied housing. This special issue describes four different approaches to improving housing, which have implications for international housing, health, and well-being policies. The first approach looks at generating the evidence base for improving the quality of the rental sector; the second, the aftereffects of the Christchurch earthquake and the unprecedented role taken by the central government to override local government and community involvement in rebuilding housing and regenerating the city; the third, measuring the effectiveness of the remediation of public housing; and finally, community-based partnerships between community workers and academics to improve the housing of children who have been hospitalized for housing-sensitive hospitalizations.

Well Homes Initiative: A Home-Based Intervention to Address Housing-Related Ill Health.

Six thousand children are hospitalized each year in New Zealand with housing sensitive conditions, and 86.2% of these children are rehospitalized during childhood. The Healthy Homes Initiative, set up by the Ministry of Health, and implemented in Wellington through Well Homes, carries out housing assessments and delivers a range of housing interventions. Housing assessments were carried out by trained community workers. Philanthropic funding was received for the interventions through a local charitable trust. Well Homes saw 895 families. Mold in the home was the most commonly recorded area of poor housing quality, in 836 homes (93%). Partial or complete lack of insulation was also common, with 452 records (51%) having a documented need for further assessment and either an upgrade or full installation. Eighty-three percent of homes had insufficient sources of heating. A total of 5,537 interventions were delivered. Bedding, heaters, and draft stopping were delivered over 90% of the time. In contrast, insulation and carpets were only delivered 40% of the time. Interventions were least likely to be delivered in private rental housing. Targeted interventions using social partnerships can deliver housing improvements for relatively little health spending. Well Homes provides immediate and practical interventions, education, connection with social agencies, and advocacy for more substantial structural home improvements to help families keep their home warmer, drier, and healthier. This approach will be strengthened when combined with a new regulatory framework to raise the standards of private rental housing.

Self-builder landlordism: exploring the supply and production of private rental housing in Dar es Salaam and Mwanza

Private rental markets accommodate a significant share of Africa’s rapidly growing urban populations. The vast majority of tenants are accommodated in rental housing supplied by private landlords. Few studies offer insights on the dynamics and logics shaping the supply and production of private rental housing in the context of African cities. This paper contributes to fill this remarkable knowledge gap with a study of the supply and production of private rental housing by self-builder households in Dar es Salaam and Mwanza, two of the largest and fastest growing cities in Tanzania. This paper examines the motivations and aspirations of self-builder landlords, the type and quality of rental housing they supply and the logics shaping their investments in housing quality and tenants’ access to services. The paper argues that housing policies should acknowledge the significance of private rental housing in accommodating growing urban populations and the contribution of small landlords, such as the self-builders in Dar es Salaam and Mwanza, in the supply and production of private rental housing. Furthermore, any policies seeking to increase the availability and quality of affordable rental housing should be informed by in-depth understanding of the perspectives of such landlords. While concerns regarding lack of protection of tenants’ rights and sub-standard accommodation are often justified, great care is needed, as policies promoting tenants’ rights or enforcing minimum standards could undermine the supply of new rental housing or make rents wholly unaffordable for the poorest tenants.

Exploring the Impacts of Living in a "Green" City on Individual BMI: A Study of Lingang New Town in Shanghai, China.

Urban planning and design in the 21st century is increasingly focusing on sustainability, illustrated by the proliferation of greener cities. While operational definitions and the actual planning of these cities can vary considerably (e.g., eco cities and low carbon cities), conceptually, at least, these terms overlap, particularly with regard to how they attempt to achieve both greener infrastructural design and healthier human lifestyles. This paper presents the findings of survey-based research carried out within Lingang New Town in Shanghai in 2019. In the cities of the Global North, the interplay between green infrastructural provision and public health has been of interest, especially in the context of social inequalities; however, there is little research from rapidly urbanizing countries where green urbanism is being increasingly promoted. Using this newly constructed example, we identified a clear positive correlation between moving to a green city and the adoption of healthier lifestyles. The structural equation modelling results suggest that behaviors around the use of green space as well as perceptions of different green space have notable impacts on residents’ physical health, measured by body mass index (BMI). The findings further illustrate systemic inequalities among private housing, rental housing and public housing typologies with regard to the distribution of health benefits.

Landscape for a Good Home: Inhabiting Ethics in the Tenement Houses of Buenos Aires and New York City

ABSTRACT Through an analysis of the materiality of practices, which includes kitchens, furniture and clotheslines, this article contributes to an understanding of ethics of dwelling that acknowledges humans’ and nonhumans’ entanglements in homes they inhabit together. It builds on a case study analysis of tenement houses – a common type of unregulated, private rented housing in Buenos Aires and New York City at the turn of the nineteenth century. The article draws on this type of housing to propose an understanding of ethics that reconsiders the emphasis on rule-following behaviour and judgement-based action, which has been influential in the study of ethics and morality across disciplinary boundaries. It shows that ethical practice is locally grounded, adaptive, and rooted in improvisation rather than in individual interest, universal reason or obedience to norms. Ethical practice is emplaced or place-based, but never place-bound. Home is reimagined as a material and affective place that is negotiated in practice and tied to other spaces and temporal horizons.

Accessing Private Rental Housing in the Absence of Housing Information in Ghana

While housing research in the developed world illustrates rental information channels, little is known about the situation in developing countries. This study examines the channels of information that are used in the private rental housing market by renters using Kumasi metropolis in Ghana as a case study. Using qualitative research methods involving interviews, findings show that unlike the developed world where rental information is readily available online, renters rely on a network of friends, relatives, co-worshippers and informal agents to find rental properties. A personal search is also common amongst renters. The use of these channels of information is founded on the absence of publicly available rental data. It is suggested that the rental space be regulated as a starting point to ensuring more formality and a better flow of information in the rental market.

What Factors Beyond Economic Poverty Lead People in High-income Societies to Feel Poor? Evidence from Hong Kong

In contrast to the economic approach that dominates poverty research, a subjective approach that asks respondents to evaluate their own poverty status offers an insider’s perspective on poverty. However, most studies investigating the factors associated with subjective poverty in high-income societies have failed to disentangle those factors’ effects on subjective poverty from their effects on economic poverty, and most were conducted in Europe. Using data from the two-wave (2015–2017) Hong Kong Panel Survey for Poverty Alleviation (N = 840), this study examined the extent to which the effects on subjective poverty of eight socio-demographic factors (e.g. gender, age, residence status, marital status, educational attainment, employment status, housing status, and self-rated health) are mediated through the dynamics of economic poverty using logistic regression and mediation analysis. The results of logistic regression showed educational attainment, housing status, and self-rated health to be significantly associated with subjective poverty. Mediation analysis revealed that the effects of secondary education and living in public or private rental housing on subjective poverty are not mediated through the dynamics of economic poverty and that only 20.40% of self-rated poor health’s effect is mediated. Our findings thus suggest that solving economic poverty alone is insufficient to tackle the issue of subjective poverty in Hong Kong. Several policy initiatives, including improving the career prospects of the secondary-educated, enhancing the mobility outcomes of public rental tenants, and reducing the rent-to-income ratio of private rental tenants, could contribute to alleviating subjective poverty.