"A sixth of the UK's population – some 10m people – now live in accommodation rented from private landlords. This proportion has roughly doubled since 2000.
This growth is predicted to continue rising, according to a report published today by property group Knight Frank.
Knight Frank's figures reflect the reversal in the trend of home ownership, which grew to a peak of 69pc of all UK households in 2001, but has since tumbled and is now below 65pc.
Knight Frank says 17pc of the UK's households rent in the private sector, up from around the 8pc level where it had previously stabilised through much of the 1990s.
By region the change is more diverse with the most expensive areas – such as major cities and the south east – seeing the proportion of private tenants leap far more"
.http://www.knightfrank.co.uk/news/private-rented-sector-returns-11.3-in-2013-knight-frank%E2%80%99s-inaugural-index-shows-02470.aspx
hbinfo note: this really explains why the HB budget has soared rather than rent increases (which have been capped by various Government measures).