In search of profit: housing association investment in private rental housing

The traditional mission of housing associations in England is to provide non-profit housing let at sub-market rents to low-income and disadvantaged households. And yet in recent years, large ‘property developer housing associations’ have begun to invest in for-profit private rental homes let at market rents. Despite long waiting lists for their accommodation, these housing associations are mainly letting their for-profit rental homes to middle-income tenants rather than their traditional low-income clientele. Drawing on a ‘historical institutional’ conceptual framework, and combining structural and ‘agency’ explanations, this paper explores the reasons for this new trend. It argues that investment by large developer housing associations in for-profit and more upmarket rental homes will become increasingly important relative to their non-profit social housing. Over time, this ‘partial recalibration’ of their landlord role is likely to gradually transform the institutional rules, everyday practices and norms that shape their behaviour.     

Quantifying a century of state intervention in rental housing in Germany

The paper aims at measuring the general state intervention in rental housing market in Germany from 1913 through 2015. Four policy classes are considered: Incentives for social housing, tenant protection, housing rationing, and rent controls. Based on a legislation analysis, for each class an index measuring the degree of regulation is constructed. The indices reflect dramatic increases in regulations during and after the World Wars. The 2010s are characterized by a surge in all classes of regulations related to the growing housing scarcity in large cities due to interregional migration leading to a geographical mismatch between housing supply and demand.     

Generation rent and the financialization of housing: a comparative exploration of the growth of the private rental sector in Ireland,the UK and Spain

Abstract

This article analyses the growth of the private rental sector over recent years through a comparative analysis of three classic homeowner societies: Ireland, the UK and Spain. The article argues that theories of financialization provide a useful framework for understanding ‘generation rent’. In particular, the cyclical nature of credit markets tends to undermine homeownership over the medium term. This contributes to and intensifies the wider set of policy changes associated with neoliberalism. The article also accounts for the divergent experiences of our three case study countries within their common trajectory. It does so through an analytical focus on the interaction between global aspects of financialization and more nationally based ones, such as mortgage markets, as well as on how both are mediated by national policy regimes. The article thus aims to contribute to the emerging literature seeking to explain ‘generation rent’ and explore its significance, and more broadly to political economy approaches to housing system change.     

How knowledge and political ideology affects rental housing policy in Ontario,Canada: application of a knowledge paradigms framework of policy change

A case study of the Tenant Protection Act in Ontario, Canada is presented. A Conservative government elected in 1995 introduced an Act to deregulate rents and amend the Ontario Human Rights Code to allow use of income criteria to screen potential tenants. Document review and in‐depth interviews with tenant advocates were applied to understand how tenant advocates in Toronto used knowledge and other strategies to influence the legislation in the context of a new framework of policy change. The findings revealed that while different forms of knowledge, scientific, anecdotal and critical, had some influence on the process, the political ideology of the government played a significant role in determining the influence of opponents to legislation. The research concludes that while the neo‐liberal political ideology of the government did not consistently influence policy making in all areas, housing policy was particularly sensitive to political ideology. While the views of tenants did not influence the Conservative government, they did influence the policies of the Opposition parties that called for the restoration of social housing and rent control. On 2 October 2003, an Opposition party supporting these positions was elected in the Ontario general election.     

Hybridity in the housing sector: examining impacts on social and private rented sector tenants in Scotland

Abstract

Housing Associations in many countries exhibit increasing levels of ‘hybridity’, as reductions in state financing for social housing, exacerbated by austerity policies since the 2008 crash, have instigated ‘enterprising’ approaches to maintaining income. Alongside this, hybrid organisations have emerged in the Private Rented Sector (PRS), responding to sectoral growth and consequent increases in vulnerable households entering private renting. These developing hybridities have been considered at a strategic level, but there has been little exploration of the impacts on tenants. This article examines two organisations, operating across the social and private rented sectors, to elucidate potential implications for tenants. The research suggests that different forms of hybridity can affect tenant outcomes and, moreover, that examining such impacts is important in understanding hybridity itself. Furthermore, the study suggests that emerging forms of hybridity, particularly in the PRS, may be blurring the boundaries between housing sectors, with implications for policy and research.     

廉租住房制度透析

指出建立城镇廉租住房制度是我国建立社会保障的重要一环,在研究分析试点城市推行廉租住房制度的基础上,针对廉租住房存在的不同认识和模糊做法,剖析现行廉住房制度的不足,提出了具体的解决方案,并对廉租住房的未来发展提出了建议.     

A private rental sector paradox: unpacking the effects of urban restructuring on housing market dynamics

The private rental sector (PRS) is growing in many advanced economies due to declining home ownership and retrenchment in social housing. This paper examines changes in the PRS in the context of housing market change and ongoing urbanisation processes. Using the example of Australia, it identifies a paradox when examining detailed changes in PRS composition between 1996 and 2011. Increasing demand from higher and lower income households has occurred alongside increasing concentration of supply in mid-market segments. The paper discusses possible explanations of this mismatch. It suggests that middle/higher income households rent through a mixture of constraint and choice in areas with a high level of amenity, adding to understanding of gentrification of inner-city areas. Urban restructuring, evident in increased land values in inner areas of large cities, has resulted in limited ‘filtering down’ of older housing into low-rent private rental stock and a concentration of investment in supply in mid-market segments with greatest prospects for resale and rental.     

The private rental sector: Problems,prospects and policy

Abstract

Despite the neglect in research and policy for rental housing, there is a developing awareness of the problems of the private rental sector and the need for policy intervention. The paper suggests that the development of policies must proceed with caution; there are many areas where our knowledge of the problems and processes of the private rental market are insufficient for policy development.     

Labour market change and housing market segmentation in south Australia's non-metropolitan private rental market

This paper reports on research into the relationship between labour market change and the private rental market in non-metropolitan South Australia for the period 1990 to 2000. It finds that there is considerable 'stickiness' within the market and that there has been a limited supply response to changing levels of demand. This has contributed to housing and labour shortages in some regions and over-supply in others. Each circumstance has generated considerable dilemmas for public policy.     

Public choice theory and rental housing: an examination of rental housing contracts in Ghana

This paper extends both the literature on rental housing in Ghana and the global literature on the critique of public choice analyses in terms of focus, methods and positioning. It argues that, contrary to the assumption that all housing policy changes are driven by internal national processes, in the case of Ghana at least, neither tenants (through their use of their greater numbers) nor landlords (through the use of their stronger financial and hence political power) exclusively influence housing policy. Both parties have some power, but landlords use theirs to change rents arbitrarily and decide whom to invite or keep as tenants, whilst tenants seek to use their power by lodging complaints with the state, albeit to little effect as the power of landlords is overwhelming. There is a strong basis to call into question the public choice argument that it is fair for landlords to extract windfall rent from tenants since their efforts or talents do not increase rent.     

Build-to-Rent and the financialization of rental housing: future research directions

Abstract

With the expansion of institutional investors into urban rental markets, many cities have witnessed a rise in Build-to-Rent (BtR). This article reviews the financialization of rental housing literature and identifies opportunities for urban housing scholars to progress understandings of BtR through future empirical and theoretical efforts. In particular, it proposes a broadening of the housing research agenda around three analytical entry points. These entry points relate to relatively understudied structural transformations of our urban housing systems implicated in the rise of BtR, namely: (1) the diversification of build-to-sell development models; (2) the evolution of the private rental sector; and (3) labour market–housing market realignments. Comparative inquiry promises to enrich understandings of BtR by revealing how city rental accommodation and tenancies are recalibrated by the investment imperatives of institutional investors and BtR asset shareholders, and with what benefits and at what costs to whom. Such contributions will also provide rich data to progress conceptual efforts to locate BtR within broader processes of housing financialization.     

Telling stories: the role of narratives in rental housing policy change in New Zealand

Abstract

This paper examines the emergence of the regulation of housing conditions in the private rental sector as a policy issue in New Zealand using an analysis of narratives in media, advocacy and political texts. Narratives are evident in public discourse and are the stories told by interest groups to identify and cast a problem as a policy issue in a way analogous to the beliefs of the speaker. This case study shows that while the narratives used by advocates for policy change were effective in raising the issue, they were ineffective in overcoming a counter-narrative of excessive regulation by the government and concerns of possible rent rises. This opposition to regulation of the private sector by a right-leaning government needs to be more effectively countered by more powerful intersecting narratives, if evidence on the relationship between housing, health and safety is to become the basis for effectively implemented government policy.     

Impact of accessibility on housing expenditure and affordability in Hong Kong's private rental sector

The expenditure on rental housing as aproportion of income is usually measured by therent-to-income ratio, which is the mostcommonly used affordability indicator, whilethe residual income approach is often taken asan alternative. This paper attempts toidentify the determinants of the rent-to-incomeratio, and to examine the impact ofaccessibility on affordability in the privaterental sector. Empirical results indicate notonly determinants of the rent-to-income ratiowould vary, but even the same variable wouldhave different impacts on the rent-to-incomeratio and hence on affordability for locationswith different accessibility. Although therent-to-income ratio in Hong Kong isconsiderably higher than in most other cities,results from the residual income approachindicate that the affordability problem is notsignificant, and that it has a strong link withaccessibility.     

Housing tenure, housing costs and poverty in Flanders (Belgium)

This article deals with the relation betweenhousing and poverty in Flanders (Belgium). Wedescribe how home tenure and housing costsdeveloped differently for different incomegroups. Furthermore, we assess the impact ofthese evolutions on poverty and welfaredistribution. Our analyses show that in theobserved period homeownership increasedstrongly among higher-income categories andremained stable or even decreased amonglow-income households. Average housing costsincreased more for low-income households thanfor high-income households, leading to a sharpincrease in problematic rent-to-income ratiosfor the former. It appears that especially theprivate rented sector is problematic. Thesocial rented sector is evaluated ratherpositively. Taking account of housing costsleads to higher poverty levels and higherwelfare inequality compared to the situationwhere only current income is used to calculatepoverty and welfare distribution.     

The use of data from South Australia's rental tenancy tribunal for research and policy analysis: Issues of validity and efficacy

This paper examines the value for research and policy development of rental tenancy data collected by the South Australian Rental Tenancy Tribunal (RTT). The data held by the RTT are for South Australia only, but comparable organisations exist in a number of other states, such as New South Wales and Victoria. Lessons learned from South Australia could serve as a pilot for the development of a new (semi-) national framework for monitoring the private rental market.     

The use of data from South Australia's rental tenancy tribunal for research and policy analysis: Issues of validity and efficacy

Abstract

This paper examines the value for research and policy development of rental tenancy data collected by the South Australian Rental Tenancy Tribunal (RTT). The data held by the RTT are for South Australia only, but comparable organisations exist in a number of other states, such as New South Wales and Victoria. Lessons learned from South Australia could serve as a pilot for the development of a new (semi‐) national framework for monitoring the private rental market.     

Housing entry pathways of refugees in Vienna,a city of social housing

This article presents the findings of an empirical study investigating refugees’ difficult entry into Vienna’s ‘tight’ housing market. Arguing that newcomers’ access to housing can be better understood by a closer look at the actors involved in the housing search process, an actor-centred approach is used. Complementing the constructivist pathway framework with a model of search based on Bourdieu’s theory of practice, four types of housing entry pathways could be identified. This study draws on semi-structured in-depth interviews with forced migrants who arrived in Austria in recent years. The analysis of newcomers’ housing entry pathways not only sheds light on the coordination structures at work in a city of social housing, but also on ‘good’ and ‘bad’ rental housing submarkets that have emerged in the course of the recent refugee movement. The paper concludes that a high proportion of social housing does not provide any indication that newcomers are granted better access to secure affordable housing.     

城市化、住房自有与住房保障——基于重庆经验的实证分析

根据重庆市1997年~2007年数据分析城市化率、住房自有率对住房保障比例的影响。单变量相关分析和多变量逐步回归分析的结果表明:城市化率与住房保障比例之间存在显著的正相关关系;住房自有率则与住房保障比例之间存在显著的负相关关系。     

Income,energy expenditure and housing in Madrid: retrofitting policy implications

Fuel poverty can be defined as ‘the inability to afford adequate warmth in the home’ and it is the result of the combination of three factors: low household income, lack of energy efficiency and high energy bills. Within this context, the present research is aimed at characterizing, for the first time, the housing stock of fuel-poor households in the Autonomous Region of Madrid. Fuel poverty incidence was established and households were divided into six different groups according to their relative position regarding fuel and monetary poverty. The housing stock of each group is characterized and those households most in need are identified. These results enable energy retrofitting priorities to be established, focusing on the needs of the different household groups and accounting for their housing stock characteristics. This allows Spanish energy retrofitting policies to be assessed for their capability of tackling fuel poverty and makes it possible to suggest some improvements.     

Property Restitution and Private Rental Housing in Transition: The Case of the Czech Republic

The objective of this paper is to explain one phenomenon evident in the transformation of post-socialist states that has received insufficient scholarly attention to date: the restitution of the housing stock in terms of its causes and consequences. In this paper, the theory of social constructivism, including Kemeny's advanced application of this theory to the field of housing studies, is used to (a) explain the causes for a particular type of property restitution in the Czech Republic and (b) outline its consequences on the role and long-term social meaning of private rental housing. This research explains how restitution was viewed by the main participants in this discourse, and how the whole process was legitimised and socially constructed in the Czech Republic. The evidence presented stems from a multi-method analysis of discourse that integrates the results of in-depth interviews, content analysis of the press, and an analysis of data from attitude surveys. The paper shows how the initial state of consensus surrounding the image of restitution quickly dissolved. The emergence of divisions combined with the inadequate response of the state generated a biased image of private rental housing among Czech citizens—a pattern that persists to the present.