A key theme from the previous chapter was that the provision of a wide range of options to rent or buy, or to acquire property on an intermediate basis, would help to facilitate access to housing for lower-income groups in rural localities. Part of this range of options stems from the privately rented sector (PRS). From the 1980s onwards, policy-makers have tended to see the valid contribution that private landlords can play in terms of delivering affordable housing solutions. Perhaps an ideal scenario in the future would be one in which the question ‘Which tenure does a housing provider belong to?’ would become increasingly irrelevant, with greater attention given to the quality of the housing and management service provided by individuals and organisations, whatever their background. At the same time, the PRS of the early 21st century performs particular roles within the housing system, and the extent to which these roles are distinctive from, or complementary to, the social rented sector needs to be recognised. Further, the PRS in rural localities has developed in different ways from the sector in urban areas and these differences also affect the particular sub-markets of local housing systems that the sector is operating in. The profile of the PRS has also been shaped by its history and it is to these issues that the chapter now turns.

Trends and legislative responses

Across Britain, the decline of the PRS over the course of the 20th century was spectacular. From being the dominant source of general needs housing at the start of the 20th century, it collapsed both numerically and proportionately in comparison with other tenures. Commentators have highlighted the main reasons for this decline. The sector was subject to heavy regulation with respect to both rents and security of tenure over most of the last century (Scanlon and Whitehead, 2005). Moreover, private renting compared unfavourably with both owneroccupation and social housing in terms of taxation and subsidy, contributing to a lack of investment in new-build for the sector (Kemp, 2004). As a result, the PRS fell from over 90 per cent of the total stock in 1919 to around 9 per cent by 1991.