Dataloft Briefing notes | Addressing topical issues in UK rental markets

Rental affordability is under intense scrutiny given the acute pressures in today’s market. Some can be explained by short-term imbalances in the wake of the pandemic but there is clearly a deeper structural problem that needs to be addressed.

In Briefing Note 12, we explore the extent to which people on low earnings are excluded from the UK’s private rental sector, or compromise on their living standards.

Based on rents achieved in 2022, only 1% of one-bed flats in London were available to a lower-quartile earner in a one-person household. In the wider South East it was 7%, and 30% in the rest of the UK.

Two-person households were in a stronger position but still restricted, particularly in London, with very little opportunity to consider a two-bed flat.

The implications are that renters compromise on quality, size and location in order to find a home. We discuss why the benefits of addressing this challenge would accrue for society as well as for individuals. This evidence makes a clear case for investors wishing to deliver social impact.

As with all our rental analysis, it draws on our DRMA dataset of rents achieved and renter demographics. If you would like to see an example of a report or talk to us about underwriting future rental values, please set up a call. 

A pdf of this report is available to download here >

Briefing notes in this series

Issue 11: Ranking cities on their rental potential from Aberdeen to Worthing.
Issue 10: Rental potential – using affordability to assess headroom for rents.
Issue 9: Eco-Step Scores – measuring biodiversity in urban areas.
Issue 8: Community – how important is community to renters?
Issue 7: Moving renters – how long to renters stay in their homes?
Issue 6: Single family housing – exploring the opportunity in UK rental markets.
Issue 5: Vulnerable employment sectors – which residential rental markets are most exposed to an increase in unemployment.
Issue 4: Open market rental values – what happened to values in London at the height of lockdown?
Issue 3: Short term loss of overseas students – how vulnerable are UK rental markets?
Issue 2: Short term fall in earnings – how vulnerable are UK rental markets?
Issue 1: Short term loss of rental income – how vulnerable are UK cities?

In the press

Our Rental Affordability analysis was quoted in the FT 18th September 2023.
Read article >

Dataloft is regularly quoted in the national press >