Report claims 390,000 jobs rely on private rented sector

The UK’s largest landlord association and a leading BTL mortgage lender have published a report that claims some 390,000 jobs rely on the private rented sector.

One of the world’s largest business consultancies, PwC, completed the research, which focusses on landlords who own fewer than 15 properties.

It also highlights how the sector contributes some £45 billion to the English and Welsh economies, and warns that even a 10% contraction in the sector would lead to tens of thousands of jobs lost.

The report is designed to push back against the ongoing attacks by both the Government and campaigning groups against landlords, agents and BTL investors.

Abolished

This includes most recently a Guardian newspaper report that claimed private landlords and the industry that supports them should be ‘abolished’ wholesale.

The new research, carried out by PwC for the NRLA and Paragon, examines annual revenue for small and medium sized landlords using regional data on the overall size of the PRS, as well as estimated revenue per rental property.

Ben Beadle, Chief Executive at the NRLA, says: “What this report makes clear is how the private rented sector plays a pivotal role in providing high-quality employment, as well as desperately needed private rented accommodation, across the UK.

“We hope that this report provides a platform for further discussion about what steps can be taken to make this happen.”

Paragon Bank MD of Mortgages Richard Rowntree adds: “Landlords make a significant contribution to the economy and job creation directly, as this report highlights, but also through facilitating labour mobility.”