Rental Sector Research Articles

Contesting the financialization of student accommodation: campaigns for the right to housing in Dublin, Ireland

Financialized student accommodation has emerged as an international asset class and is a more visible and politically contentious feature of Irish cities. In this paper, I focus on Dublin which has seen the construction of for-profit Purpose Built Student Accommodation, and rent increases, skyrocket. Contributing to, as well as advancing, debates on rental market financialization, I present changes to student housing provision tied to financialization and explore the consequences for students’ right to housing. I build my argument around qualitative research undertaken between 2019-2021, namely documentary analysis, focus groups, and key informant interviews. I explore how financialization is contested through engagement with the student housing campaign ‘Shanowen Shakedown’. I present the political outcomes of this campaign and demonstrate that whilst it achieved greater housing rights for students, students continue to battle the uneven geographies of financialization. The paper argues student accommodation is implicated in wider transformations of Dublin’s urban housing system and the ongoing financialization of the private rental sector.

Are tenants willing to pay for energy efficiency? Evidence from a small-scale spatial analysis in Germany

To address climate change, the decarbonisation of Germany’s existing building stock urgently needs to be prioritised. However, the rate and depth of refurbishment has lagged behind official targets for years. This is a particular problem in the rental sector, where the costs and benefits of energy efficiency measures tend to be unevenly distributed between landlords and tenants (the so-called ‘landlord-tenant dilemma’). Within the context of the current policy landscape, investments in energy efficiency consequently make most sense for landlords if the upfront costs can be refinanced via increased rental income or reduced vacant periods. This paper seeks to investigate the validity of this statement at city level by using a large dataset from one of Germany’s main internet property platforms to examine how the willingness of tenants to pay for energy efficiency varies across residential locations in the city of Wuppertal.The small-scale spatial analysis highlights the existence of a price premium for energy efficiency in the rental market for apartments; however, this premium is generally small (especially in comparison to other property enhancements, especially visible improvements) or even non-existent in some residential areas. Consequently, investing in energy efficiency is rarely an attractive option for landlords. Therefore, strong policy action, aligned with social and urban development policy objectives, is necessary to establish an effective incentive structure in the market and make investing in energy efficiency more attractive for both landlords and tenants.

The role of private landlords in making a rented house a home

The growth of the private rented sector (PRS) since the 2000s in countries with lightly regulated markets has led to significant questions over its ability to provide a homely environment for tenants. Much of the research in this area argues that legal frameworks, lack of regulation and financial motives of landlords are not conducive to the provision of homes which are secure, affordable, good quality and which offer tenants an opportunity to meet their health and wellbeing needs. This is despite legislative changes that seek to raise standards in the sector and promote greater professionalisation. This paper presents findings from an evidence review of research concerning home within the PRS across OECD countries. Rather than focusing on the experiences of tenants, it considers the impacts of landlord and letting agent behaviours on tenants’ ability to make their rented house a home. We argue that landlords and letting agents can play a positive role in helping their tenants create a home, and that this offers benefits for both landlords and renters.

Loneliness within the Home among International Students in the Private Rental Sector in Sydney and Melbourne

ABSTRACT We draw on 45 in-depth interviews and a large-scale survey we conducted, to examine loneliness among international students in Sydney and Melbourne within their accommodation. We discuss three features which increase the possibility of loneliness – the physical layout and use of the space; the social composition of fellow tenants, and power differentials between tenants. The interviews indicated that the lack of a congenial common area, having to share with students dissimilar with respect to nationality and language, and being in a situation where a tenant holds disproportionate power, are likely to hinder the development of social connections with fellow tenants.

A Study of Discriminatory Practices in Rental Housing

The responsibility for uncovering rental discrimination falls on researchers and all stakeholders in the rental sector. The study examined discriminatory practices in Nigerian rental housing with a view to providing information that could expose the existence of discrimination. Questionnaires were administered on 417 renters and data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and factor analysis. The study found disparate treatment of renters in the study area. Rental discriminatory practices found include “Landlord creating different terms or standards for certain tenants” which received a mean score of 3.9614; “I was told housing is not available for rental when it is, in fact, available” received a mean rating of 3.8410; “I was denied negotiation for a rental” (3.4892). The study also revealed that real estate agents discriminate, landlords and tenants also discriminate. Some rental discriminatory forms are subtle and this explain why rental discrimination has proved to be difficult to detect or eliminate. The study recommends for continued fair housing enforcement activities to ensure that all have equal opportunity to housing. Keywords : Discrimination, rental housing, landlords, renters DOI: 10.7176/JEES/11-12-04 Publication date: December 31 st 2021

Split incentives and endogenous inattention in home retrofits uptake: a story of selection on unobservables?

Imperfect information in rental sector and housing-induced returns heterogeneity among occupiers are typically estimated with cross-sectional single-equation models. This approach leads to the estimation of conspicuous wedges in insulation investment propensity between tenants vs owner–occupiers (≥20 percentage points) and low-return vs high-return dwellings households (0.10–0.20pp) in the UK. I analyse their sensitivity to assumptions on unobservables à la Oster (2019) and Cinelli and Hazlett (2020). According to the former’s parametrization, under equally strong observables and unobservables, the effect of split incentives on loft/wall insulation investment can be up to 40%/26% lower, while the effect of housing choices is unaltered. The latter’s strategy suggests that an equal selection scenario would reduce by at least 60% the split incentives estimates, whereas non-random housing would just cause the estimates to drop by less than one third. Hence, I quantify a certain degree of selection on research conclusions and offer some convenient tools to integrate in the assessment of the sources of under-retrofitting with cross-sectional data.

Finding home online? The Digitalization of share housing and the making of home through absence

ABSTRACT Economic pressures, demographic changes and digital technologies are reshaping housing pathways as rented, shared and digitalized. In Australia, a growing proportion of adults are renting in the private market, often in shared accommodation. We know little about shared housing because the shared rental sector remains largely “hidden”. Online shared housing platforms offer insights into how people seek homes in a market where personal attributes are marketed alongside properties and rent. We use over 9000 Flatmates.com.au listings to identify the demographic features of shared households and potential tenants, with a smaller subset used to illuminate the characteristics that are sought after and marketed by people searching for a shared home. Our analysis reveals that the “ideal flatmate” is one who contributes to social relations in the home while rarely being at home. These insights highlight the limits of shared housing markets for long-term tenure because ofconstraints on home-making practices.

Home or hotel? A contemporary challenge in the use of housing stock

Since the Global Financial Crash, there have been significant changes to the private rented sectors across the UK. The PRS has become increasingly important to providing housing to millions of homes and has gained increasing political and regulatory focus. At the same time, there has been a substantial increase in the number of short-term holiday lets enabled by online platforms such as Airbnb. There are concerns that this housing stock is being lost from residential housing and exacerbates issues of housing equality. This paper undertakes a case study of Airbnb growth in London to examine changes in listings and provides insight into Airbnb hosts. The extant literature and analysis in this paper support the argument of the loss of privately rented properties, with housing stock being reallocated as tourist accommodation, potentially displacing local communities. Finally, the paper analyses the struggles this poses for policymakers, communities and housing providers.

The Economic Structure and Employment Opportunities (Cases in Bengkulu, Indonesia)

This study examines the effect of changes in the economic structure on employment opportunities in Bengkulu Province and determines the necessary economic policies. Besides, this study also aims to measure and compare all economic sectors and the total sector productivity of each sector. The method used is explanatory research. The subjects in this study were Bengkulu Province. The data used in the measurement of research variables are secondary in time in data series from 1983–2017. It is for 34 years. The required data is from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) Bengkulu Province. Hypothesis testing was analyzed using Multiple Linear Regression Analysis. The result showed that changes in the economic structure had a simultaneous effect on job opportunities. The agriculture sector's contribution is positively more influence, the electricity and drinking water sector, the transportation and communication sector, the trade and hotel sector, and the services sector. Changes in Economic Structure have a simultaneous effect on job opportunities. Partially, job opportunities are more positively influenced by the contribution of the agricultural sector (X1), buildings (X4), electricity and drinking water (X5), transportation and communication (X6), trade and hotels (X7), financial and rental sector variables. Rent (X8) and services (X9). The increased contribution from these sectors can increase job opportunities to be higher. In this model, the magnitude of the effect simultaneously is R2 = 66.1%. The remaining 33.9% can explain by other factors not examined, such as education, health, environmental, and performance factors.

Reluctant regulators? Rent regulation in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic

Rents in the Australian private rental sector (PRS) have long been determined by the market, but during the public health and economic crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, state and territory governments implemented emergency measures to prevent evictions and regulate rents. This article reviews the rent measures implemented and their outcomes, using survey data and other quantitative evidence, and interviews with PRS stakeholders. We find the rent measures, which relied on negotiations between individual landlords and tenants, had a modest effect – just 8–16% of tenants got a rent variation – and tenants, landlords and agents struggled in unfamiliar roles. The emergency period holds lessons and prompts questions about future directions in policy-making for rental affordability and PRS relations.

1313Is private rental instability bad for mental health?

Abstract Background People in the private rental sector move more than people in other tenures. Yet we know little about the consequences for health of this instability. We are the first to use a nationally representative longitudinal survey of Australians (2000-2018) to causally examine mental health effects of residential instability for a low-income working-aged cohort of private renters. Methods Mental health was measured using the SF-36 (MH) and Kessler Psychological Distress scale (K10). We examined effects of 1) cumulative time spent in private rental compared with other sectors (homeowner or social housing), 2) total numbers of transitions, and 3) average numbers of transitions within 5 years, using marginal structural models to account for complex confounding of tenure, socio-economic position, and mental health over time. Results The mental health of private renters was similar to homeowners at initial occupancy but became worse after one to five years. The more moves private renters made, the worse their mental health, with people who had >five moves in total reporting a -3.77-point (95%CI -6.79; -0.75) difference on MH and -3.84-point difference (95%CI -7.61; -0.07) on K10 (rescaled). If numbers of moves were small, the mental health of private tenants was better than social tenants. When moves were frequent, however, their mental health scores became similar. Conclusions Residential instability negatively affects mental health. Frequent moves in private rental worsen tenants’ mental health compared to owners. Key messages Reducing housing instability in lower-income households in private rental with greater protection from forced moves will increase resident’s wellbeing.

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.

A systematic analysis of the spatial migration patterns and the linkages between market components in Greater Manchester, United Kingdom

PurposeThis paper aims to bring together research on housing market area, submarket and household migration into a systems approach that helps us gain a better understanding of the structure and dynamics of a housing market and identify housing problems for a large metropolitan area.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a geographic information system (GIS)-based method with simple quantitative techniques, including spatial analysis, location analysis, house price clustering and cross-tabulation. The analysis is based on migration data from the 2011 Census, house price data from the Land Registry in 2011 for Greater Manchester at the ward level and the output areas level.FindingsThe results show that different submarkets and housing market areas had different patterns of spatial migration and connections with other areas. Through a systematic analysis of migration and house price in combination, it also found a close connection between destination submarkets and the ages of migrants and identified specific problematic patterns for a large metropolitan area.Research limitations/implicationsThe interactions between the owner-occupied sector and the social and private rented sectors are arguably an important omission from the analysis. Also, it is acknowledged that clustering ward units based on price differentials is subject to distortions in terms of specification, size and shape. Moreover, the use of the large samples may result in very small p-values, leading to the problem of the rejection of the predefined hypothesis.Practical implicationsA systematic analysis of migration and house price in combination may be used to gain a better understanding of the housing market dynamics and identify housing problems systematically for a large metropolitan. It may help to identify low-demand areas, high-demand areas and assist planners with decisions in allocating suitable land for new housing constructions.Social implicationsThe GIS-based method introduced in the paper could be considered as an effective approach to provide a better basis for determining policy interventions and public investment designed to allocate land resources effectively and improve transport systems to change existing problematic migration patterns.Originality/valueThis paper fills a gap in the international literature in relation to adopting a systems approach that analyses migration and house price data sets in combination to systematically explore migration patterns and linkages and identify housing problems for a large metropolitan area. This systems approach can be applied in any metropolitan area where migration and house price data are available.

The effect of local housing allowance reductions on overcrowding in the private rented sector in England

Ensuring housing affordability while controlling government expenditure is a concern in many countries. In the UK support for private renters is delivered via an income-related housing benefit calculated using the Local Housing Allowance. As part of a programme to reduce government spending the support provided by the Local Housing Allowance was significantly reduced in 2011, and ongoing changes to its uprating have further reduced its value. These changes have raised concerns about the suitability of homes people receiving the allowance can afford. Using a natural experiment approach by applying matching and difference-in-difference methods to housing stock data from the English Housing Survey, this research finds a statistically significant 5% increase in overcrowding for housing benefit recipients following the changes to the Local Housing Allowance, equivalent to approximately 75,000 additional households living in overcrowded conditions. Longer-term results show that overcrowding continued to increase as changes to the uprating system further reduced the value of housing benefit. The decision to reduce the Local Housing Allowance and sever its relationship with actual rents has therefore reduced the ability of recipients to access suitable housing which will have had important implications for health and well-being, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

International students struggling in the private rental sector in Australia prior to and during the pandemic

International students have emerged as a major cohort within Australia’s post-secondary education sector. Despite contributing substantially to the economy and community, they are expected to make their own way in Australia’s expensive private rental market. Drawing on two surveys—one conducted prior to Covid-19 and one fielded during the pandemic—as well as forty semi-structured in-depth interviews, the article examines strategies adopted by students to cope with high rents in Sydney and Melbourne. Drawing on the concept of risk, we argue that international students studying in these two cities must constantly manage the pressures of expensive and unstable rental housing. Access to decent accommodation often depends on finding and maintaining paid employment. Second, students adopt risky strategies to meet housing costs such as sharing bedrooms. These strategies reduce rents but invoke further challenges. Third, we find that due to the loss of paid employment, the Covid-19 pandemic has substantially increased the risks for international students dependent on the private rental sector.

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.

Purpose-built rental housing and household formation among young adults in Canadian cities, 1991–2016

In recent decades, several Canadian cities have experienced a significant restructuring of their housing demand as young adult aspirations and expectations of maintaining independent households have been confronted by soaring housing costs, falling vacancy rates, and a rental supply system that is characterized by an overreliance on rental condominiums and other provisional forms of ‘secondary’ rental housing. The study presented in this paper focuses on intra-metropolitan variation in household formation among young adults and attempts to explain it from a macro perspective, emphasizing the importance of a community’s ‘primary’ or purpose-built rental sector. Following a review of the international literature on the impacts of housing supply and availability on household formation, panel regression models are estimated to examine the effects of changes in the relative supply and real cost of purpose-built rental housing on changes in young people’s household formation in Canadian metropolitan areas between 1991 and 2016. The results indicate that a 1% increase in the relative supply of purpose-built rental housing leads to 0.24% and 0.14% increases in the rates of family and non-family household formation of young adults. These estimates are generated using instrumental variables, controlling for potential simultaneity between household formation and purpose-built rental supply.

Offsite construction supply chain strategies for matching affordable rental housing demand: A system dynamics approach

Australian housing affordability is influenced by both housing supply and demand factors. These factors include lengthy construction and planning process. The affordability crisis affects the housing rental sector, which accommodates more than 20 % of Australian household. This research developed a system dynamics model to simulate demography-linked affordable rental housing demand and supply in South East Queensland (SEQ). A Prefabricated Offsite Construction (OSC) housing supply strategy is compared with a traditional building approach (BAU) to investigate the effectiveness of OSC techniques to reduce informational asymmetries during development planning stages to deliver better affordable rental housing is linked to housing needs in SEQ. The model focuses on demographic groups housing demand of one, two- and three-bedroom apartment units and examines how reductions in the development process, through OSC methods, influence the efficiency of Government supported affordable rental housing supply schemes. Overall, the study finds that reduced planning and construction timeframes through OSC methods may improve demography-linked rental housing supply by approximately 6.6 % overall compared to BAU in SEQ. For 1,2- and 3-bedroom apartment demand, OSC strategies are expected to improve supply efficiency by 8.7 %, 8.4 % and 9.2 %, respectively. Optimal OSC strategies were assessed and found that flexibility in development sizes have an outsized positive effect. The study has implications for Government supported affordable rental housing strategies, including the build to rent sector.

Intervening in the cycle of poverty, poor housing and poor health: the role of housing providers in enhancing tenants\u2019 mental wellbeing

Poverty, poor housing and poor health are complexly interconnected in a cycle that has proven resistant to intervention by housing providers or policy makers. Research often focuses on the impacts of the physical housing defects, particularly upon rates of (physical) illness and disease. There has been comparatively little research into the ways in which housing services can underpin the generation of positive health and, especially, wellbeing. Drawing on qualitative data from 75 tenants in the social and private rented sectors, this paper describes the findings of a research project that tracked tenants’ experiences across their first year in a new tenancy in Greater Glasgow, Scotland. The project collected data on tenants’ perceptions of housing and housing service quality, financial coping and health and wellbeing, which was analysed using the principles of Realist Evaluation to elucidate impacts and causal pathways. Being able to establish a sense of home was key to tenants’ wellbeing. The home provided many tenants with a recuperative space in which to shelter from daily stressors and was a source of autonomy and social status. A sense of home was underpinned by aspects of the housing service, property quality and affordability which are potentially amenable to intervention by housing providers. These findings raise questions about the extent to which social housing providers and the private rental market in the UK are able to meet the needs of vulnerable tenants. They suggest that approaches to housing provision that go beyond providing a basic dwelling are needed to successfully intervene in the cycle of poverty, poor housing and poor health.

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

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.