Seminar 8: 29 April 2014
Generation Rent - Facing the challenges of private rental expansion in Birmingham
Ben Pattison, Housing and Communities Research Group
After a century of decline, the private rented sector in England grew rapidly from around 2001. Between 2001 and 2011 the number of private renters almost doubled. This phenomenon is often termed ‘generation rent’ and the most common explanation is that this growth consists of households who are ‘priced out’ of owner occupation due to rising house prices. In this seminar, Ben looked at generation rent in more detail with analysis of the social, economic and political drivers for this trend. This included qualitative analysis of housing policy under New Labour and quantitative analysis of data from the 2011 census. Ben concluded by discussing the impacts of this major change to the housing system.
Facing the Challenge in Birmingham
Steve Bentley and Michael Walsh, Birmingham City Council
Steve and Mike have responsibility for Private Rented Services and the Housing Strategy, Policy and Commissioning Team at Birmingham City Council. Their presentation reviewed the challenge of changes in the private rented sector and its impact on the citizens and neighbourhoods of Birmingham, how the local authority is responding to those challenges in a period of financial constraint with observations on emerging trends, challenges and opportunities.