Abstract
Rent Control in Britain began in the First World War and has lasted, on and off, most of this century. There has been almost no new building for private rent since 1939. The private rented sector is small (8%), marginalized, delapidated, and unattractive.
The British Government is enacting new legislation to reform all areas of rented housing. Rents of new lettings will be freely agreed (i.e., at market levels) between landlord and tenant. But the tenant has security of tenure, subject to renegotiating a new rent. The absence of any important tax incentives or other subsidy was an obstacle to revival even with market rents. But the Business Expansion Scheme proposal in the March 1988 budget has created considerable interest among investors.
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Paper for conference on Rent Control: The International Experience, John Deutsch Institute Roundtable, Kingston, Ontario, 2 September 1987
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Coleman, D. Rent control: The British experience and policy response. J Real Estate Finan Econ 1, 233–255 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00658919
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00658919