ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an introduction and context for the rest of the collection, beginning with a brief historical overview of the traditional private rented sector (PRS) and its rebirth in a different form in the late 1980s and 1990s. It also provides evidence of the nature of the PRS in Britain, and so adds to their understanding of what might happen in the future. The chapter introduces the key features of the 'new PRS', and explains how it differs from what went before, particularly the rise of the buy to let market and the problems that have arisen in areas where housing demand is very low. The full-scale deregulation of the PRS began in the 1988 Housing Act, through the provision of assured shorthold tenancies. Until the Housing Act 2004, the statutory minimum standard for housing was the Fitness Standard specified in the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, which laid down requirements including freedom from damp and structural stability.
