Aside from income which restricts access to home-ownership, many socio-cultural factors as well as past public policies militate against home-ownership in the urban areas of residence of most urban migrants. Private renting is the only option for many and indeed constitutes the majority tenure. While housing in Third World countries is generally characterised by overcrowding and lack of facilities, this study shows that these problems are more highly concentrated in the private rented sector. Based on evaluations of various alternative policies related to quality improvement, rent and tenant-landlord relationships, the study found that most such policies would be difficult to implement or would be outright counter-productive. It suggests incentives aimed at the provision and improvement of private rented housing, and the deliberate creation of public rented housing as ways of meeting the needs of those currently in the private rented sector. -from Author
