Study title

Much academic and popular attention has been paid to ‘Generation Rent’ – a growing group of young people who are trapped in the private rented sector (PRS) due to challenges in accessing other housing tenures. Yet much less is known about the experiences of older, middle-aged renters (MARs). This is a key gap given the recent growth of the sector. Once a housing tenure associated with students and young professionals the PRS is now increasingly housing a more diverse range of tenants including families with children. Yet renters over 35 remain a relatively understudied group by comparison. This study aims to address this gap in the evidence through qualitative enquiry. It is led by researchers from the Universities of Stirling and Glasgow as part of the activities of the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (phase I).The Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE) will be an independent, multi-disciplinary and multi-sector consortium of academic and non-academic stakeholders. CaCHE will be UK-wide in coverage (across all four nations and at different spatial scales within), as well as UK-level in focus. It will advance knowledge and improve the evidence base for both housing policy and practice in all parts of the U.K. CaCHE will be organised as a hub and spoke network with its administrative core in Glasgow and a physical presence in all 5 sub-national knowledge exchange hubs in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales & the South West, the North & Midlands, and London, East & South East. Additionally, our six research themes will cross cut the different geographies depending on relevancy and appropriateness. The management team will be responsible for overall strategy, operational delivery, co-ordination, data navigation, research and KE. The management team of three academics (Gibb, Watkins and Orford) will be supplemented by a senior non-academic lead on knowledge exchange and communications (Smart), plus a full time programme...