Originally published in 1985, this book analyses the development of private rented housing in Britain, France, the former West Germany, the Netherlands and the USA. The book shows that the changing fortunes of the private rented sector are seen in some measure to be connected with the social, economic and political conditions which surrounded the rapid industrialisation and urbanisation of the 19th Century.

Michael Harloe was Vice Chancellor of the University of Salford from 1997 to 2009. He was formerly Professor of Sociology, Dean of Social Sciences and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research at the University of Essex. He was the Founder Editor of the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. He is a Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics and a Visiting Fellow at Kellogg College, Oxford.

Originally published in 1974, this book surveys the experience of public and quasi public housing in the UK, USA, France, Germany, the former USSR, Israel, Denmark, Sweden, Hungary and Puerto Rico. Each country's housing policy is set in a broad social and historical context, showing how the policy developed and how effective it was. Administrative problems encountered in different countries are evaluated and compared and many similarities emerge. The relationship of housing to transport, education and employment is discussed and special attention is focused on the role of new towns in Sweden, the former USSR, the UK, Israel and the USA.

1. The Growth of Private Rented Housing 2. The National Background to Private Renting 3. A Profile of the Private Rented Sector: The Stock 4. A Profile of the Private Rented Sector: Tenants, Landlords and Access 5. Rents and Rent Policy 6. Subsidies and Taxation 7. Urban Renewal and Improvement 8. Landlord/Tenant Relations 9. The Future of the Private Rented Sector.