ABSTRACT
Labelling it as ‘a’ sector masks the fact that the private rented sector provides accommodation for a diverse array of households and is highly fragmented. As well as charting the history of legislative intervention, this chapter explores the reasons for its decline and considers some of its characteristics, specifically the nature of landlordism, the different tenant groups and housing conditions. The supply of private rented accommodation in the UK declined during most of the twentieth century, from about 90 per cent of the total housing stock in 1900 to 8.6 per cent in 1989. Between 1914 and 1939 over one million privately rented houses were sold into owner-occupation, mostly to sitting tenants at substantial discounts. The Rent and Mortgage Interest Restrictions Act 1939 – one of a number of Acts hurried through Parliament in preparation for the outbreak of war – brought the great majority of residential properties under control again.
