The growth of private renting in the past decade has given renters more political power, reveals new data from Generation Rent.
The growth of private renting in the past decade has given renters more political power, reveals new data from Generation Rent.The new analysis of the census found that 194 constituencies in England have populations containing 20% or more private renters, up from 114 in 2011.
At the time of the 2021 Census, the private rented sector (PRS) provided accommodation for 4.8 million households in England, up by 1.1 million in the 10 years since the previous Census.
This accounts for 21% of households in England.
Although nationally, the private renter population has increased by 29% in 10 years, the number of parliamentary constituencies with 20% or more private renters has increased by 70% to reach 194, 36% of the seats in England.
Previously, renters had been relatively concentrated in inner cities, with a large voice in a small number of seats, the search for cheaper rents and family-friendly homes has pulled renters into suburbs and satellite towns of London and other major cities.
Generation Rent stated that, as a result, PRS votes now affect a larger share of the political map.
Due to this shift, Generation Rent claims that it is getting harder for politicians to ignore renters.
The renter population continued to grow in the 2010s, but since then, renters’ political power has grown even more, and could make a difference in many more seats at future elections.
