Competition between social and private landlords: Exploring landlords’ perceptions of rivalry and the barriers to a rivalrous relationship in local housing markets

Governments in many countries have required social housing providers to operate more marketorientated and engage in commercial activities. Conversely, public authorities in some countries have tried to strengthen the role of the private rental sector in the provision of housing for lowincome households and homeless people. As a result, the once clear demarcation between the activities of social and private landlords appears to be shifting, which has possibly led to increased competitive pressure on both landlord groups. As part of a wider research project, this paper aims to shed light on the behavioral aspects of competition between social and private landlords. Drawing on data from thirty in-depth qualitative interviews with housing association managers, letting agents, and private landlords in two local housing markets, Coventry in England and Breda in the Netherlands, this study explores landlords’ perceptions of providers in the other rental sector, as well as the influence of the structure of the local rental market on these perceptions.OTB Research Institute for the Built Environmen