Private rental sector estimated at being worth £1.4 ...

A new estimate put the value of the UK private rental sector at almost £1.4 trillion.

Buy to let and investment consultancy Sequre Property Investment says it’s based the estimate on the number of current private rented dwellings across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and then looking at the total value of these rental portfolios based on current property values.

It says there are an estimated 5.5m privately rented homes across the UK, accounting for 19 per cent of the entire property market - and it assumes that the average house price is a typical reflection of the worth of a unit in the rental sector, too.

England is home to by far the largest private rental market with 4.8m homes within the sector. This places the total value of the English rental market at £1.3 trillion based on the current average house price of £271,434.

London accounts for 40 per cent of this total market value, with the 1,042,000 rental homes located in the capital. The South East (£234 billion) and the East of England (£154 billion) are also home to some of the most valuable rental markets.

Outside of England, Scotland ranks as the second most valuable rental market with the 371,000 privately rented homes worth nearly £64 billion; in Wales, this current rental market value stands just shy of £38 billion, with the Northern Irish private rental market valued at nearly £18 billion.

Sequre sales director Daniel Jackson says: “The private rental market is the backbone of the UK housing sector and plays an incredibly important role in providing homes for those that are unable to overcome the financial hurdles associated with homeownership.

“Despite this, we’ve seen a number of legislative changes implemented to deter landlords from the sector by a government that clearly has no idea what they are doing.

“While it may only account for 19 per cent of the total market, reducing the size of the sector would leave many struggling to find an alternative option with regard to their living arrangements.”