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Landlords and their middlemen: How intermediaries are shaping the private rental sector in Oslo

Høeg, Sigrid Elise Swensen LU (2024) SGEM08 20241
Department of Human Geography
Abstract
In Oslo, small-scale private landlords dominate the private rental sector (PRS). The characteristic ownership structure has given way to intermediary actors, such as letting agents and online platforms, operating between landlords and tenants. The findings of this thesis show that intermediaries in the Oslo PRS do not play the role as neutral middlemen, but on the contrary represent the market interests of landlords. Intermediaries’ strategic use of market mechanisms has introduced new standards in the PRS. Affecting the filtering of tenants, introducing new contract standards and managing tenancies with the aim of rapidly increasing rental prices, they lead to an increased socio-spatial inequality. Intermediaries contributes to an overall... (More)
In Oslo, small-scale private landlords dominate the private rental sector (PRS). The characteristic ownership structure has given way to intermediary actors, such as letting agents and online platforms, operating between landlords and tenants. The findings of this thesis show that intermediaries in the Oslo PRS do not play the role as neutral middlemen, but on the contrary represent the market interests of landlords. Intermediaries’ strategic use of market mechanisms has introduced new standards in the PRS. Affecting the filtering of tenants, introducing new contract standards and managing tenancies with the aim of rapidly increasing rental prices, they lead to an increased socio-spatial inequality. Intermediaries contributes to an overall reduction of risk for landlords renting out secondary housing by transferring the risk over to the tenant and strengthening the market position of landlords in the PRS. This thesis combines perspectives from housing sociology with perspectives from political economy of housing, to shift the research focus away from tenants to the beneficiaries of the private rental sector, namely landlords and intermediaries. By taking a critical realist approach, this thesis research seeks to reveal the intermediaries’ effect on the underlying structures of the Oslo PRS. (Less)
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author
Høeg, Sigrid Elise Swensen LU
supervisor
organization
course
SGEM08 20241
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
private rental sector (PRS), intermediaries, small-scale private landlords, private property, risk reduction, Oslo
language
English
id
9172890
date added to LUP
2024-08-29 10:13:39
date last changed
2024-08-29 10:13:39
@misc{9172890,
  abstract     = {{In Oslo, small-scale private landlords dominate the private rental sector (PRS). The characteristic ownership structure has given way to intermediary actors, such as letting agents and online platforms, operating between landlords and tenants. The findings of this thesis show that intermediaries in the Oslo PRS do not play the role as neutral middlemen, but on the contrary represent the market interests of landlords. Intermediaries’ strategic use of market mechanisms has introduced new standards in the PRS. Affecting the filtering of tenants, introducing new contract standards and managing tenancies with the aim of rapidly increasing rental prices, they lead to an increased socio-spatial inequality. Intermediaries contributes to an overall reduction of risk for landlords renting out secondary housing by transferring the risk over to the tenant and strengthening the market position of landlords in the PRS. This thesis combines perspectives from housing sociology with perspectives from political economy of housing, to shift the research focus away from tenants to the beneficiaries of the private rental sector, namely landlords and intermediaries. By taking a critical realist approach, this thesis research seeks to reveal the intermediaries’ effect on the underlying structures of the Oslo PRS.}},
  author       = {{Høeg, Sigrid Elise Swensen}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Landlords and their middlemen: How intermediaries are shaping the private rental sector in Oslo}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}