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The Enduring Allure of Neoliberalism: Individualising Responsibility for Housing Costs in the English Private Rental Sector

Emma Laurie

The Modern Law Review2026https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2230.70030article
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Abstract

This paper explores how the affordability of rents is addressed in the long‐anticipated reform of the English private rental sector (PRS) by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. The PRS has doubled in size since 2010, acting as a social housing substitute for some households. Its tenants spend the highest proportion of income on housing costs, with unaffordable rents acting as a driver of poverty. The paper uses key themes from housing studies literature on neoliberalism to track the shift of liability for housing costs to tenants, along with the concomitant creation of opportunities for others to invest in private landlordism to fund their future welfare. Comparing the Conservatives’ Renters (Reform) Bill with the Labour Government's Renters’ Rights Act reveals that, despite cross‐party recognition of affordability as a fundamental problem, there is political unanimity around preserving market rents, and political consensus to maintain current minimal protections against above‐market rent increases. This mechanism requires individual tenants to guard against economic eviction by initiating adjudicative action. Overall, there is remarkable continuity with the preceding four decades that have been dominated by neoliberal‐inspired policies. The identified failure to depart from the market‐dominated consumerist trajectory threatens the improved security of tenure that the Act promises.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2230.70030

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@article{emma2026,
  title        = {{The Enduring Allure of Neoliberalism: Individualising Responsibility for Housing Costs in the English Private Rental Sector}},
  author       = {Emma Laurie},
  journal      = {The Modern Law Review},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2230.70030},
}

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0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

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