The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) commissioned this paper to contribute ideas for its Housing Market Taskforce, a two-year programme of work aiming to achieve long-term stability in the housing market for vulnerable households. This paper:

• examines features of the UK private rented sector;
• investigates the impact of extending security of tenure and introducing second-generation rent controls;
• assesses the potential for the private rented sector to provide an alternative to home-ownership for households who are priced out of home-ownership, or for whom risks are too high.