About the research
In 2013, the UK Communities and Local Government Committee of Parliament advocated for more protection for private rental tenants, citing concerns regarding the growing numbers of tenants with children, unsafe living conditions, increasing rents, and exorbitant letting fees.
The social science studies of landlords in the private rented sector have to date been limited in scope and detail. This report presents research on private landlords in Britain with an aim to inform the political debate on these issues with key descriptive evidence regarding:
- the landlord population in the UK and how it has grown
- the socio-economic characteristics of buy-to-let landlords, specifically their capabilities, economic security, financial position and financial planning
The researchers found that landlords in the private rented sector have risen over the last decade, currently at around two per cent of the adult population.
Compared to tenants who rent from private landlords and other social groups, the majority of these landlords have a more privileged background — that is, they tend to be white older males who are married, well educated, employed, and with no children at home.
The mean financial wealth of private-sector landlords is £75,103 compared to £9,506 for their tenants. Additionally, these landlords save more money at far greater rates than the general population, believing that such investments are necessary for their retirement pensions and further real estate ventures. Sixty-two per cent of private landlords report that they’re able to withstand the economic risk of a quarter drop in income for a year or more.
The report presents evidence to inform the policy debate on landlord and tenant rights. The accompanying policy document ‘Whose Home? Understanding landlords and their effect on public policy’ suggests that policy changes that favour tenants over landlords may have little impact on landlords.
Methodology
Analysis methods included descriptive analysis and binary logistic regression, taking into account the complex sampling design and weighting procedures used in the surveys. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the differences are statistically significant.
Publications
Lord, C., Lloyd, J. and Barnes, M. (2013) Understanding landlords, research paper, Strategic Society Centre. Retrieved 24 March 2014 from http://www.strategicsociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Lord-C-Lloyd-J-and-Barnes-M-2013-Understanding-Landlords.pdf
Lloyd, J. (2013) Whose Home? Understanding landlords and their effect on public policy, research paper, Strategic Society Centre. Retrieved 24 March 2014 from http://www.strategicsociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Lloyd-J-2013-Whose-Home-Understanding-landlords-and-their-effect-on-public-policy.pdf
In addition, this research received the following media coverage:
Dale, S. (4 July 2013) ‘Thinktank calls for BTL lending cap to boost home ownership’, Money Marketing. Retrieved 24 March 2014 from http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/mortgages/thinktank-calls-for-btl-lending-cap-to-boost-home-ownership/1073801.article
The Economist (20 July 2013) ‘The changing property market: Rented castles’, The Economist. Retrieved 24 March 2014 from http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21582009-market-finally-adapting-surge-private-renting-rented-castles
Lloyd, T. (4 July 2013) ‘First-time buyers held back by landlords’, Inside Housing. Retrieved 24 March 2014 from http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/ihstory.aspx?storycode=6527651
Osborne, H. (4 July 2013) ‘Ban landlords from buying new-build properties, says thinktank’, The Guardian. Retrieved 24 March 2014 from http://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/jul/04/ban-landlords-new-build-properties
Trowbridge, P. (4 July 2013) ‘Landlord growth “blocking first-time buyers”‘, Sky News. Retrieved 24 March 2014 from http://news.sky.com/story/1111558/landlord-growth-blocking-first-time-buyers
Whateley, L. (3 July 2013) ‘Rich landlords block first-time buyers’, The Times. Retrieved 24 March 2014 from http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/money/article3807219.ece?CMP=OTH-gnws-standard-2013_07_04