Branded rental market will leave the vulnerable ‘out in the cold'

The National Landlords Association (NLA), the UK's leading representative body for landlords, has responded to further calls for the adoption of a large institution-driven, US-style branded rental market in the UK by warning that it could leave the vulnerable ‘out in the cold'.

Yet more proposals to incentivise large institutions to invest intensively in rental accommodation has the potential to skew the private-rented sector away from a diverse housing market designed to meet different needs and budgets.

With the global credit crunch continuing to affect tenants and homeowners alike, the NLA believes that the sensible aim of investment incentives should be to cover the full range of investors in the private-rented sector, including professional private landlords and institutional investors alike. By ensuring that rental market is open and diverse, the Government can be confident the lower end of the market, housing the most vulnerable in society, is not forgotten as ‘low-profit'. There is room for all types of investment.

David Salusbury, Chairman, NLA, warning about the commoditisation of housing, said: "We should be wary of calls to mirror the US housing market here in the UK, especially since there are few similarities and the US housing market is suffering considerably. We need to focus on developing the UK rental market around its own specific needs and circumstances.

"Encouraging a diverse UK rental market, including encouraging professional private landlords, will enable choice that will benefit consumers. Where is the evidence that large corporate investors are concerned about developing housing for the more vulnerable groups in society? Or will the focus only be on the high-profit areas of the market, as their shareholders might expect?"