After many years of decline, the private rental sector has increased in England, but remains a relatively small part of the housing market. Free market rents and weak security of tenure are widely regarded by private landlords and policymakers in England as essential preconditions for a commercially viable private rental housing market to exist. And yet in Germany - which has a very large private rented sector - 'soft' rent regulation has been in place since 1971 and tenants have very strong security of tenure, conditions that in England would be seen as inimical to investment in the sector. The aim of this paper is to address this puzzle. It asks: how is it that free market rents and weak security of tenure are perceived to be vital ingredients for a successful private rental sector (PRS) in England, when neither exists in Germany, which has a very large PRS?Private rental housing, rent regulation, security of tenure, England, Germany,
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.