Rental Sector Research Articles

‘Generation Rent’ and Intergenerational Relations in The Era of Housing Financialisation

Homeownership has been in decline in a number of developed societies since the early 2000s driven, primarily, by declining entry among younger households who have been increasingly pushed into the rental sector. This trend has been associated with a growing intergenerational divide, or even conflict, and the emergence of ‘Generation Rent’. This paper explores the conditions surrounding diminishing access to owner-occupation among new households with a focus on the historic maturation of homeownership sectors, the restructuring of the political economy (financialization) around housing wealth and the inter-cohort dynamics surrounding the accumulation and transfer of housing wealth. The paper takes an international perspective drawing on evidence from two parallel, but contrasting cases: Japan and the UK. The analysis illustrates the interrelatedness of inter- and intra-generational inequalities, with the former reinforcing the latter. It also focuses on the role of families as both a moderator of generational inequity at the micro level as well as an enhancer of socioeconomic inequalities overall.

Taming the 'masculine pioneers'? Changing attitudes towards energy efficiency amongst private landlords and tenants in New Zealand: A case study of Dunedin

New Zealand's housing is some of the poorest quality and hardest to heat in the developed world. The private rented sector in particular offers the worst quality accommodation to the country's poorest and most vulnerable tenants. Previous research has established a range of economic and socio-cultural explanations for the prevalence of poor conditions in private rented accommodation with the 'principal-agent problem' dominating the debate. This paper reports the findings from research in Dunedin, a city with some of the coldest conditions and least energy efficient properties in the country. The study was undertaken in 2015 and involved 30 in-depth interviews with landlords exploring their attitudes towards improving the thermal performance and energy efficiency of their properties. The results revealed a shift in attitudes amongst landlords over a period of about 5 years, with many becoming more amenable to investing in insulation and low energy heat sources. This shift has ostensibly been driven by pressure from tenants who appear to be departing from established cultural norms and becoming intolerant of cold homes and high bills. The study highlights how socio-cultural factors, such as growing expectations regarding warmth and comfort in the home, can disrupt established cultural norms and economic rationales to bring about change.

Risks Induced by Lithuanian Housing Policy for the Youth Living in the Private Rental Sector

Rapid expansion of welfare state model and persistent processes of housing sector commodification are corroding the stable social security net and transforming the structure of housing sector at the same time. The growing private rent sector becomes a desirable option for those households which struggle to acquire housing in private housing sector. Lithuanian private rent sector is a peculiar case because the rent segment is poorly regulated and the practice of informal rent is widely spread. Even the general official framework of Lithuanian housing policy considers private rent sector an economic activity, but not the residential one – the rent is legally treated as just a contract between the renter and the tenant. The study aims at showcasing the situation of Lithuanian youth (18–35 yr.) who rent housing units privately, and their attitudes towards private rent sector. The analysis presents the differences in socio-demographic features and value orientations among young tenants and home-owners. The article describes several profiles of young tenants: they usually live in more compact housing units and are more likely to be single or cohabitate with a partner and without any children. Important feature of Lithuanian private rent sector is a quite short residential period, and the fact that the majority of young tenants have not declared or registered rented housing unit as their primary place of residency. Young tenants are more anxious about their liability to the renter, but not about their rights as the tenants. More than one quarter of young tenants participate in informal housing rent sector, only about half of young tenants have legal contracts with renters. All these features of the private sector allow concluding about the rent sector’s ambivalence or existence of various levels of residential security for young tenants.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ppaa.17.3.21958

Tenants’ Responses to Substandard Housing: Hidden and Invisible Power and the Failure of Rental Housing Regulation

ABSTRACTUnsafe and unhealthy housing is a major problem in the private rental sector in a number of countries, despite the existence of regulations intended to protect people from such housing. Rental housing quality regulation often relies on tenants reporting problems with their housing, but this fails to take account of power dynamics in the tenant-landlord relationship that make it difficult for tenants to do so. Drawing on Lukes’ three-dimensional view of power, we build a new framework for analysing power at the “micro” level of the relationship between tenant and landlord. We apply this to a review of qualitative research on tenants’ responses to housing quality problems in Australia, England, New Zealand and the United States. We find that the interactions of visible, hidden, and invisible dimensions of power work to prevent the effective airing and resolution of grievances about housing quality and render current forms of regulation inadequate.

ANALISIS SEKTOR POTENSIAL YANG BERPENGARUH TERHADAP PERTUMBUHAN EKONOMI DI KABUPATEN BOVEN DIGOEL 2007-2011

From the results of this study found that based on the Growth analysis, overall sector field effort in the Regency Boven Digoel period 2007-2011 has a positive growth except Electricity and Clean Water sector have negative growth in 2010 are registration-7,11 and on the Financial, Rent, and Business Services sektor in 2011 as much as -20,07. Sector base / superior sectors (LQ>1) based on analysis Location Quotient (LQ) namely the Agricultural sector, Industry Processing sector, and Building sector. Through analysis Shift Share classic known sector that have the skills competitive namely Mining and Quarrying sector, Electricity and Clean Water sector, Building sector, Trade, Hotels and Restaurants sector, and Financial, Rent, and Business Service sector.
 Keywords : Economic Growth, Growth analysis, Location Quotient (LQ), Shift Share Classic.

Do renters skimp on energy efficiency during economic recessions? Evidence from Northeast Scotland

This paper investigates tenants' willingness to pay (WTP) for energy efficiency in the private rented housing sector. Using data from Aberdeen city and Shire in Scotland between the third quarter of 2013 and the second quarter of 2017, rent premiums of 2–11% associated with more energy efficient dwellings are found, and the magnitudes of these premiums are considerable compared to those of other physical attributes. Such premiums however, are significantly reduced during economic recession, suggesting that tenants' WTP for energy efficiency varies under different economic conditions. From a methodological perspective, the study uses a multilevel model, where the unobservable neighbourhood and age effects are approximated. Our results implicate that although tenants’ WTP for more energy efficient is present, there still might be a need for public strategy to facilitate the improvement of energy performance in the private rented sector.

Enclave Tenement Trap

This article investigates the housing process of ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. The study is an attempt to explain how these minority ethnic groups are filtered and trapped in the private rented housing sector in inner city enclaves. Focus group and in-depth interviews are used to study the low-income Pakistani and Nepalese migrants in two districts in Hong Kong. Affordability, discrimination and locational consideration draw the Pakistani and Nepalese families towards the private rented sector in tenement slums. A model of enclave tenement trap is built based on empirical research conducted in Hong Kong. The model and findings provide directions for civil society institutions and housing policy.

Regulating the private rented sector: millennial themes

PurposeThis paper considers the evolution of government policies regarding the provision of housing in the private rented sector and the regulation of landlord behaviour by mapping this onto known regulatory theory. It argues that the current regulatory trajectory is highly problematic both from the perspective of land law (by further attenuating the conception of property rights) and indeed regulatory compliance.Design/methodology/approachThe approach maps successive governments’ policy stance, what is known of the configuration of the sector and the current demand for housing against evolving regulatory theory (in particular compliance). The piece draws on both property theory and economic analysis.FindingsEnrolling private sector landlords to enforce policies, other than those relating to the landlord and tenant relation (as indicated by the “right to rent” provisions), and attempts at professionalizing the sector may be highly problematic. Furthermore, the growth of regulation may impose an increasing regulatory burden on a significant proportion of the sector, namely, the smaller landlord especially those owning who own only one property.Research limitations/implicationsThe hypothesis has not been tested aside in a generalized manner by making reference to the evidence obtained by other researchers and landlord associations. It is for other researchers who may wish to test the hypothesis empirically.Practical implicationsThis paper includes a view that has not (to the author’s knowledge) been expressly articulated by Government or through its policies and is one which it may wish to reflect upon.Originality/valueThis paper adopts a novel stance by deploying regulatory theory with understandings of property to highlight potential adverse effects.

Inquiry into the future of the private rental sector

This study investigated the Australian private rental sector (PRS) focusing on institutional change, including formal rules (policies and regulation); organisations and structures; and informal rules (social norms and practices). It also reviewed the PRS in ten countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

A economia política da política monetária no Primeiro Governo Dilma: uma análise sobre taxa de juros, convenção e rentismo no Brasil

Resumo O presente artigo busca, por meio de um estudo de economia política, aprofundar na análise da condução política monetária do primeiro governo Dilma Rousseff, com ênfase especial para o comportamento da taxa de juros. Com base nas teses sobre dominância financeira da economia política (pós) keynesiana, sobretudo no que concerne aos conceitos de convenção e rentismo, sustenta-se que a redução da taxa nominal de juros acompanhada de uma inflação persistente resultou em um nível de taxa de juros reais abaixo do nível convencionalmente aceito pela população. A partir daí, os setores mais interessados na manutenção da convenção, os setores rentistas e financistas, no afã de retomar o patamar de rentabilidade real, passaram a se organizar em desfavor da política econômica como um todo. Argumenta-se ainda a formação de um processo retroalimentado na economia brasileira, no qual a reação organizada destes setores de oposição resultara no agravamento da crise econômica e política, que por sua vez, fornecera cada vez mais a substância para a atuação destes setores.

Housing, debt and the economy: a tale of two countries

In housing affordability levels and volatility, there could hardly be a greater contrast than between the UK and Germany. Differences in history, institutions and policies are explored in this paper. Residential housing supply has been far more expansionary in Germany and mortgage credit more tightly regulated. A sensibly regulated rental market and stable German house prices have combined to leave the rental sector with over half of tenures. Policy failures in the UK have resulted in widening intergenerational inequality, increased social exclusion, adversely affected productivity and growth and raised the risk of financial instability. Policy lessons are drawn for the UK, which go far beyond the remit of the immediately responsible Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Housing policy and the changing tenure mix

The paper discusses the many reasons why housing policy can appear to be both incoherent and ineffective - with too many Departments involved each with different objectives and a plethora of policies pulling in different directions. Drawing on earlier research findings the paper discusses three examples which have impacted on tenure mix – the growth in the private rented sector where policy initiatives – except for unintended side effects – have been limited and market and macroeconomic pressures have dominated; a range of tax anomalies which provide inconsistent incentives and generate considerable costs to the economy; and the impact of specific policies which concentrate on supporting owner-occupation through new build initiatives. The paper concludes by asking whether housing policy is inherently unable to withstand the pressures placed on it by both politics and macroeconomic realities.

Navigating a changing private rental sector: opportunities and challenges for low-income renters

This study investigated how low-income renters navigate the private rental sector (PRS) via three core pathways: the formal (via traditional or mainstream real estate agent intermediaries), informal (direct to rooms and dwellings privately managed by landlords and sub-landlords) and supported pathways (via community housing agencies). It provides practitioners and policy makers with an evidence base on changing practices and ways forward in shaping equitable PRS institutions.

Rental tenants’ willingness-to-pay for improved energy efficiency and payback periods for landlords

Throughout the developed world, residential buildings in the rental sector exhibit lower levels of energy efficiency than the owner-occupied building stock. This study estimates Irish rental tenants’ willingness-to-pay for energy efficiency improvements. A double-bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation method is used to examine how much renters are willing to pay in their monthly rent for improved energy efficiency, measured via energy performance certificates. Using an administrative dataset from a grant scheme for residential energy efficiency retrofits, we examine the upfront cost to landlords of engaging in energy efficiency retrofits and calculate associated payback periods. Tenants in Ireland are willing to pay an average of €38 for a one-grade improvement along a 15-point energy performance certificate scale. Providing additional information about energy performance certificates and the potential impact on energy costs reduced mean willingness-to-pay, implying that in the absence of information tenants overvalued energy efficiency labels. Based on tenants’ willingness-to-pay, investment payback periods for attic and cavity wall insulation are relatively short but prohibitively long for external wall insulation and solar heating retrofits.

An empirical investigation into students' experience of fuel poverty

The trend of expansion in Higher Education in the UK since 1992 has created a massive demand for accommodation for students, where the housing stock is one of the oldest and least efficient in Europe, and the private rented sector is often singled out for containing some of the least energy efficient, and in worst condition properties. The extent to which students factor in energy efficiency and fuel poverty concerns into their accommodation choices is explored in this paper, along with the perception of the phenomena by students. From a survey of 286 students it was revealed that while students themselves may not consider themselves to be living in fuel poverty, the activities taken in their day-to-day lives suggest the opposite. The impact of the housing stock on student quality of life is investigated as well.

Simulating the Barriers of Transaction Costs to Public Rental Housing Exits: The Case of Wuhan, China

The purpose of this paper is to explore and simulate the barriers of transaction costs to public rental housing (PRH) exits in China. The two-period model of household consumption utility, with the constraints of transaction costs, is employed to conduct our analysis. The overall results show that if transaction costs go beyond the tenants’ ability to afford them, the tenants will continue to live in the current PRH units, resulting in an obstruction of PRH exits. When the rent ratio in the two periods is higher than 1 and continues to rise, a higher proportion of transaction costs for household consumption contributes to a greater impeding effect, so the barriers’ effect with regards to concurrent changes in rent and income is similar to that of changes only in rent. We observe a close relationship between the acceptable maximum transaction costs and the variety of housing rents. If the tenants cannot afford the maximum transaction cost or housing rent in the private market, they will stop searching for a more advantageous housing and will prefer living in the current PRH units. Moreover, the proportion of maximum acceptable transaction costs does not vary with the changes in the expected household income; income growth only increases the absolute value of transaction costs, not the relative one. Therefore, the government should not only provide housing search services to help tenants leave the public rental sector, but should also adjust the supply of affordable housing for households with housing stress.

Action–reaction. Survival strategies of tenants and landlords in the private rental sector in Belgium

The private rental sector (PRS) is growing in many Western countries after a period of decline. In Belgium, a renewed policy interest in the PRS emerges and the sector is believed to play an important role in addressing housing needs of low-income households. Steering these households to the PRS is however not without problems. The supply side of the market is not necessarily willing to accommodate vulnerable renters. Landlords and real estate brokers install mechanisms to exclude financially vulnerable households throughout the entire rental procedure. These in turn develop (counter)strategies to get round the obstacles and to increase their chances. In this article, we apply an interactional perspective to study the interplay of strategies developed by both sides of the market. The article is based on 58 in-depth interviews with landlords and brokers, testimonies of low-income tenants from 15 focus groups plus 5 in-depth interviews about the influence of different discrimination grounds on their private rental experiences.

Vulnerable Adults in the Privately Rented Sector in England: A Snapshot of Current Practice Issues

In the UK, in common with many developed countries, there is a crisis in the provision of adequate, affordable and quality housing. This paper discusses how an unprecedented rise in the privately rented housing sector has impacted on housing security for vulnerable adults and the challenges for social work emerging from this situation (The core definition of ‘vulnerable adult’ from the 1997 Consultation ‘Who Decides?’ issued by the Lord Chancellor’s Department, is a person: ‘Who is or may be in need of community care services by reason of disability, age or illness; and is or may be unable to take care of unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation’. This definition of an adult covers all people over 18 years of age.). We report on a scoping review of the relevant literature and a subsequent online survey of practitioner’s views on the challenges and possible solutions to this issue. Together these provide a snapshot of practice issues and concerns which can be used to promote further debate and help shape recommendations.

Private rental in transition: institutional change, technology and innovation in Australia

This study is a comprehensive analysis of the Australian private rental sector and its institutions. It explores the interplay between regulation; organisations and structures; and social norms and practices of prevailing policies. It also explores the impact of innovation and digital technology.

The housing careers of younger adults and intergenerational support in Germany’s ‘society of renters’

Through narrative interviews with younger adults and their parents, this paper explores how the housing transitions of younger adults, both within the rental sector and into homeownership, are shaped through intergenerational intra-family support in Germany’s society of renters. Our findings highlight the profound qualitative differences between regular transfers for establishing and retaining residential independence in the rental sector and inter vivos gifts for house purchase. Where the former support type is given and taken unconditionally, transfers for house purchase follow a different logic and carry different meanings. Being a necessary condition for property acquisition at young age, they have the power to completely rebalance family relations and undermine younger adults’ autonomy accordingly. In an aggregate perspective, our study further suggests increasing socio-spatial inequalities within the younger generation which run along both class and spatial origin, sharply dividing the housing market opportunities of ‘original Berliners’ and those who have moved to the city from more affluent regions in Germany.