Q&A

With house prices still way out of many first-time buyers’ reach, the property industry is turning its attention to the private rented sector. According to a recent Hometrack report, house prices have risen twice as fast as earnings since 1990 but private sector rents have kept pace with earnings growth since 1994 – and private rents have fallen relative to house prices and house purchase costs.

Here the chief executive of the British Property Federation, Liz Peace, explains why the private rented sector is more important than ever before.

• What are you calling for?

We’re calling for the government to recognise the need for an institutionally run, professional rented sector. The sector could play a central role in improving workforce mobility and choice for the millions priced out of the housing market.

• Is it just a short-term solution?

No. Far from it. In the years to come, there will be more students and higher immigration. Overall, immigration is predicted to contribute about a third of all housing need over the next 20 years. Many immigrants’ first-time housing is private rented.

• Do you encourage registration of private landlords?

No. There is a universal registration scheme operating in Scotland and all that happens is that the worst offenders in the sector fail to register and get away with it. Likewise, local authorities monitor landlords they can easily identify, rather than those peddling the worst standards.

• How would higher standards be achieved then?

If people had more choice – a sector run and managed by companies with reputations at stake then rogue landlords would not have a place in the market.

• Who would benefit most from a professional rented sector?

Students or mobile workers who require short or medium-term accommodation, younger people who require flexibility in both their living and financial arrangements, immigrants, as well as the millions caught between social housing and the property ladder.