Experts call for professional rental sector

05 2008
As demand for rental accommodation continues to soar across the UK, fresh calls have been made for the establishment of a professional rented sector.

According to the British Property Federation, the need for such a sector is now greater than ever as lenders tighten their belts in the wake of the credit crunch and therefore make it even more difficult for prospective first-time buyers to get onto the property ladder.

In addition, such an initiative would also reduce the number of new homes the government feels have to be built over the coming years.

"The rented sector, whether professionally or privately owned, has the potential to make a huge contribution not just to the supply of housing, but also to the returns on institutional savings portfolios," commented Nick Ritblat, former BPF president and current strategic advisor to Deloitte.

"Far from being just a politically inspired exercise in social engineering, this initiative has the potential to stand on its own two feet as a reliable long-term financial investment," he continued.

The latest official figures released by the government show that demand for rental accommodation is currently 25 percentage points higher than demand for homeownership.ADNFCR-1219-ID-18454398-ADNFCR

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