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World Habitat exists to identify, strengthen and transfer well-evidenced housing solutions that can answer some of the world’s most urgent housing challenges. These solutions are recognised through the World Habitat Awards, which has awarded over 300 housing projects from all over the world. One of these such winners are the 2022 Gold Award winner Homes for Good, Scotland’s first social enterprise letting agency and property developer.
Homes For Good buys neglected homes and renovates them to a high standard to then let to people on low incomes. It has helped hundreds of people on low incomes or at immediate risk of homelessness live somewhere which is affordable to them and high quality. More broadly, it has opened up an additional affordable housing pathway, enabling people to live in safe and secure privately rented homes. What if more of the Private Rented Sector (PRS) looked like this?
A System Under Pressure — And a New Opportunity
Well, in the UK, the social housing sector cannot currently meet the growing demand for affordable homes alone. Even with more investment, it will take years to provide enough social housing. With 2.8 million private landlords in England, the private rented sector (PRS) plays a key role in offering affordable housing.
As it stands, public perceptions of the PRS and landlords are often oversimplified, overlooking the sector’s complexities and its essential role in meeting housing demand and need. Addressing these misconceptions is vital, as the PRS not only provides affordable homes today but also has significant potential to help meet the growing demand for secure, affordable housing. This should build on the good practices already present in the sector — such as those of Homes for Good — to help create a fair and effective rental market for everyone.
That’s where our latest work began.
At World Habitat we are working to foster meaningful dialogue around the PRS and reshape current perceptions around the sector’s role. Our goal is to offer practical recommendations that support those in the PRS working to provide dignified, affordable housing. As a significant part of our housing landscape in the UK, the PRS must be considered alongside social housing to make sure it can flourish and adequately support those in housing need.
This work has encompassed a range of activities:
A New Report – The Private Rented Sector: A Vehicle for Affordable Housing
We started by commissioning a deep dive into how other countries are doing things differently in the PRS. Guided by award-winning, evidence-based projects across Europe, the report benchmarks the English PRS against international success stories, offering not just analysis but applicable lessons.
Bringing PRS Specialists Together
We brought together housing experts from across the UK for a roundtable discussion, guided by the findings of the commissioned report. We explore the challenges and possibilities within the PRS with a view to the UK Government’s National Housing Strategy on the horizon.
What We Found: Four Key Areas for Action
Out of the roundtable, four key areas emerged:
Shaping Perceptions Around the PRS: The positive role that affordable PRS can play
The Mediated Market: The role of intermediaries in the PRS and how they can be defined
Financing the PRS: Unlocking institutional capital to support the PRS
Policy and Advocacy: What a conducive policy framework looks like for an effective PRS
Whats Next?
Throughout each discussion, we and sector specialists have built consensus around key actionable recommendations to be presented publicly soon.
In the coming months, World Habitat is publishing a series of articles, policy briefs, and other materials outlining its findings and key recommendations to support the PRS.
For now here is the A New Report – The Private Rented Sector: A Vehicle for Affordable Housing
We are also hosting a dedicated session – The Private Rented Sector: An untapped source of affordable housing – at our conference Homelessness and Affordability: Sharing what works on June 12. Reserve a spot here.
Join the discussion