Sustain private rented sector research project
Sustain is a partnership project between Shelter and Crisis. Shelter are the lead partners. The project is funded by the Big Lottery’s research programme and is running for three years from August 2010 to August 2013.
About the research
The study is exploring the long-term outcomes for vulnerable households who have recently entered the private rented sector (PRS). It will develop a robust evidence base for future policy and practice in this area.
We’re seeking to find out more about the experiences and outcomes of homeless people resettled into the PRS, by engaging with people who are helped to move there (for example, by a voluntary agency or rent deposit scheme).
We're revisiting people over a period of time to see how they’re getting on and to explore their outcomes over three years.
The research is being carried out in three areas of England:
- Greater Manchester
- East Sussex
- East London.
Why do we want to do this research?
There is a lack of evidence about or research on the PRS, and the sector has grown a lot in the last ten years. We expect that it will continue to grow and that it will increasingly become a tenure of choice in which to house people, as a result of recent policy changes.
Some people resettled into the PRS will be vulnerable - they are people who might previously have been housed in social housing or supported housing.
Our lack of knowledge of the sector means that we need to do research to find out more about it. Do people moving into the sector think of it as a sustainable housing option? How does it impact their wellbeing? Can the PRS meet a variety of needs?
Through this research we’d like to achieve three outcomes:
- create an evidence base on the PRS
- make suggestions for support bases for people in the PRS
- make policy recommendations to help people in the PRS
An interim report will be published in Spring 2012 followed by a final report in 2013
Contact us to find out more
Email us at sustainprs@shelter.org.uk to find out more.
