Regulation of the Private Rented Sector

Abstract

The chapter provides a state-of-the-art review of regulation of the private rented sector focusing particularly price control and tenant security. It provides a brief context of the regulatory challenges in view of the key dimensions of private renting in comparison to other tenures. It details common typologies from first through to third-generation from the history of rent price control and rationales for intervention and effectiveness in terms of, inter alia, affordability and the recent urban affordability crisis. It considers theoretical dimensions as well as empirics, indicating potential costs and benefits of regulation which empirically are found to be mixed. These depend on housing market context, policy objectives and governance frameworks, as well as implementation details.