MORE private rented sector (PRS) developments, like the one being built on Southampton’s former fruit and vegetable market, could be the key to solving the country’s ‘critical rental shortage’ according to Hampshire & Regional Property Group.

The Solent-based property developer and regeneration specialist says the relatively new model for bringing rented homes to the market is likely to play a significant part in filling the shortfall.

News of the UK facing a ‘critical rental shortage’ broke today as The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) announced that at least 1.8 million more households will be looking to rent rather than buy a home by 2025. It follows a steep increase in the number of households renting, from 2.3 million in 2001 to 5.4 million in 2014.

Allan Gordon, MD of Hampshire & Regional Property Group, the company behind Southampton’s first PRS scheme at the former fruit & vegetable market off Queensway, said: “We’ve already seen a huge rise in the number of households choosing to rent rather than buy and these latest figures show that demand shows no sign of slowing down.

“A number of countries in mainland Europe have managed to quench the desire for rented homes and create sustainable communities through the use of the PRS model and that’s exactly what the UK needs. In a way we are behind the times and have some catching up to do.”

A PRS project is where a development is built entirely for rental. It differs from traditional schemes because rather than having some private owner-occupiers and some private investors who rent their homes, the whole development is under the ownership and management of one company.

This means common areas are kept to a consistently higher standard; the lettings and management can be more integral to the day-to-day management of the development and ancillary services and facilities such as super-fast broadband and cleaning can easily be offered to all tenants.

Allan added: “PRS schemes are particularly relevant in city centres, where young professionals who have studied at local universities want to retain a sense of city living without having to put down a huge deposit on a home. PRS developments provide them with high quality accommodation, encouraging them to stay in the city centre and work locally.

“We are hoping that our ground-breaking PRS scheme in Southampton will play a part in retaining the talent developed at our local universities and contribute to the city’s economic development.”

The RICS called on the government to give pension funds tax breaks to fund large scale rental developments, a recommendation which Hampshire & Regional Property Group fully endorses.