Within this section you’ll find an overview of the private rented sector, what makes it what it is and why it is important to those who are tackling homelessness.
You will also find information about a number of initiatives, directives and schemes that are relevant to those working in this field:
What is the private rented sector?
The Private Rented Sector (PRS) can be defined as accommodation that is privately owned (i.e. not owned by a council or housing association), that is being rented out by a landlord, normally for some profit.
The PRS is very diverse, so it is difficult to make generalisations about it:
- PRS accommodation can mean a luxury five bedroom house or a small bedsit room
- Tenants might be wealthy professionals or unemployed people on very low incomes
- A landlord could be a large property company with hundreds or even thousands of properties to a person renting out just one flat.
Many UK households rent privately. Analysing the people and households living in private rented accommodation in 2001, the University of York found that:
- 11% of households in England were renting privately
- Use of the PRS is largest of all in Greater London, where 16.4% of households were living in the PRS.
In terms of the profile of people living in the PRS, the survey found:
- PRS households were most commonly comprised of single people below the age of retirement
- Professionals and those working in highly qualified technical areas were often private renters
- The PRS was the most ethnically diverse type of accommodation
- The PRS offered the most flexibility of choice, with many people choosing PRS tenancies because of the mobility it allows e.g. students and people wanting to move because of changing jobs.
There is no denying that there are problems with the PRS:
- It can be expensive, and even at the cheapest end of the market, there can often be a shortfall between Housing Benefit and rent levels. Compounding this problem further is the fact that in most cases landlords will require a deposit of one month’s rent, on top of the actual first month’s rent, paid at the start of the tenancy. For those claiming benefits or otherwise on low incomes, this can provide a serious impediment to moving into the PRS. You can read about ways of circumventing this problem in the Rent Deposit Schemes section of this website.
- Virtually all accommodation in the PRS is offered on Assured Shorthold Tenancies (AST), which means that after the initial six, sometimes 12, month lease expires, unless it is renewed, tenants can be evicted at a month’s notice. It is worth noting, however, that social housing is now also largely offered with ASTs. In any case, while a landlord can evict a tenant on an AST at a month’s notice, this doesn't mean they will! Landlords, whether in the private or social sector, want reliable tenants who will pay the rent on time and look after the accommodation.
- At the very lowest end of the sector the quality of accommodation can be poor.
However, it is important to emphasise that while these problems do exist, they are not universal. The PRS is not necessarily unaffordable or in poor condition, and private landlords are not necessarily unscrupulous.
Why is the private rented sector important?
Historically, the PRS has been a little used resettlement resource for single homeless people. Concerns about landlords, affordability and security of tenure in the PRS, coupled with the expectation of securing permanent, low-cost social housing, have meant that the PRS has often been perceived as not only an unattractive, but an untenable option.
However, insufficient supply of permanent social housing, and the consequent silt-up of temporary supported accommodation (stats from ‘No Room to Move' and GLA research), means that the homelessness sector has to find ways of making the PRS a viable and attractive option for homeless people.
Beyond the practical and expedient reasons for making better use of the PRS, there is at least one other very good reason why the PRS can be a good option for (formerly) homeless people - and that is that it enables people to live in a more diverse community, away from the ‘homelessness system’.