September 2006 marked ten years since the Association of Residential Letting Agents launched the concept of buy-to-let. In those years buy-to-let has seen amazing growth with over a million householders now living in buy-to-let properties.

These properties are worth in excess of £120 billion and the sector contributes over £30 billion to the economy each year. This is more than is made by all the pubs, hotels and restaurants in the country and is over four times more than the contribution from the motor industry!

Buy-to-let has spread the reach of the private rented sector into areas that had little or no private renting before which has revived housing markets and assisted in inner city regeneration.

In the mid-1990s less than half the private rental stock was owned by individuals, now they own two thirds of the sector – a change largely attributable to buy-to-let and the breakthrough mortgages offered by the original ARLA panel of lenders.

A smaller private rented sector would mean less choice and lower standards. Competition between landlords in the provision of rented property has brought considerable gains to households in rented accommodation and is one of the reasons more people rent.

The benefits of renting appeal particularly to young mobile people. Changing lifestyles, affluence, employment patterns and financial circumstances have combined to encourage more younger people to rent rather than own their homes.

Whilst most tenants will eventually build up savings and buy their own property, most young people are moving to home ownership at least a decade later in life than they did previously.
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