THE PRIVATE RENTAL SECTOR IN WESTERN-EUROPE - DEVELOPMENTS SINCE THE SECOND-WORLD-WAR AND PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE

In the period after the Second World War, the dominant position of the private rental sector in the housing market in many West European cou ntries came to an end. Economic developments and government policy bot h contributed to the greatly deteriorating competitive position of the private rental sector in many countries. Although there have been com parable developments in many countries that have led to a decrease in the share of private rented dwellings, there are also considerable dif ferences between them regarding the size and function of the private r ental sector in the housing system. There are also differences in the use of policy instruments and the volume of new construction of privat e rented dwellings. As a result of recent developments in housing poli cy in many West European countries the competitive position of the pri vate rental sector has started to improve, Moreover, in a number of co untries (regional) housing shortages are again occurring. For the priv ate rental sector this perhaps means new opportunities.