Ashley Campbell, policy and practice manager at CIH Scotland, blogs about newly commissioned research on mid-market rent, in partnership with Wheatley Group.

I think sometimes in the housing sector, we can be guilty of using our own language and acronyms to discuss and describe things – mid market rent (MMR) being a prime example. Talking about MMR, submarket housing or intermediate tenures with our colleagues is fine and we have a shared understanding of what we’re discussing. But what about tenants and prospective customers? Do they really understand what MMR is? Why is it more expensive than social housing when some of it is provided by social landlords? Who is it for and what is its purpose?

These are some of the questions we are setting out to explore. CIH Scotland, in partnership with Wheatley Group, has commissioned a piece of research which will look at existing provision of mid market rent housing and scope for future provision with different customer groups.

The work on existing provision will seek to improve understanding of current delivery models by speaking to local authorities and housing associations about their experience of providing MMR, their current tenants and plans for the future. This will help to provide context and highlight examples of what works in different areas across Scotland.

However, the main focus of the work will be carried out with existing MMR tenants and potential future tenants through phone interviews and focus groups. We want to know more about people’s understanding of what MMR is. If they are already an MMR tenant, we want to know more about why they chose MMR. If they are not a current tenant, we want to know whether they might consider MMR in the future or what they might find attractive about MMR.

The research is being carried out by Anna Evans Housing Consultancy. The research team will be approaching various housing providers over the next few weeks seeking input to the research. We hope that the findings will deepen our understanding of customer aspirations and attitudes towards MMR which should in turn help the housing sector to explore the role of MMR within wider strategic context of affordable housing supply.

Key findings will be published later this year but if you have any questions about the research, please get in touch.

Ashley Campbell

Policy & Practice Manager

CIH Scotland

ashley.campbell@cih.org