According to a recent survey carried out by the Department for Communities and Local Government, the percentage of homes in the private rented sector is now equal to that in the social sector, which together makes up a huge 17% of the total housing stock in the UK.
In the last ten decades, the number of private rental homes in the UK has risen by a massive 1.5 million whilst the number of local authority owned houses has fallen by 1.8 million. And as Alan Ward, chairman of the RLA, commented:
“The news that the private rented sector is now equal in size to the social rented sector demonstrates the ever-increasing importance of the sector in meeting the UK’s housing needs.”
The result of the survey is not all that surprising when you consider that the cost of owning our own home is becoming increasingly unaffordable for a large number of the population, especially younger people with no savings. However, it does illustrate just how important the role of private landlords are in the current economic climate—without people like us buying property to let, there would be an even greater shortage of housing stock in the UK.
However, despite the increase of landlords in the private rental sector, there is still a chronic shortage of homes available, which in part is driving rents up across most parts of the UK. As a result of this, industry experts are still calling on the government to review the way landlords are taxed in order to encourage further investment and increase housing stock.
