My Department and the Economic and Social Research Institute operate a programme of collaborative research principally focused on housing economics. Under this programme, researchers from the Institute and my Department prepared a research paper exploring the short-run implications of the Covid-19 pandemic on the private rental market. The research paper is focused on rental payment affordability and the potential incidence of arrears during the first three months of the pandemic among non-supported private market renting households, that is, among renting households which do not receive a housing subsidy. Changes in consumption patterns arising from public health measures are also considered in the paper.
The research paper is currently undergoing governance and review processes; finalisation and publication is anticipated during the coming weeks.