‘You Can Touch the Bricks’: The role of Asset Tangibility in Landlord Investment Decision Making

Author: Andrew Watson ID

For three decades, Private Rented Sector (PRS) growth has been driven by part-time, small-scale, profit-seeking landlords in several Western nations. While the characteristics and motivations of these landlords have been examined in some geographies, far less is known about their investment decision-making, particularly their reasons for choosing the PRS over alternative investment options. This matters because these decisions shape the sector’s growth and tenant welfare. The study begins to address this gap by exploring the role of asset tangibility in landlord investment decisions, drawing on research from other investment domains. A mixed methods study was conducted, comprising an online survey of 1,033 Scottish landlords and follow-up interviews with 33 landlords and PRS professionals. Findings suggest that some landlords exhibit a bias towards the ‘bricks and mortar’ tangibility of PRS investment, which shapes risk perceptions and aspects of their investment decision-making. The findings have several implications. For landlords, there are concerns around investment efficacy; for policymakers, questions about landlord financial literacy; and for tenants, risks to their welfare from landlord decision-making. While the findings are not directly transferable, they are likely to have salience in other nations with established PRSs, including Australia, Canada, the United States, and parts of Europe.

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Document Type
article
ISSN
2336-2839
Volume / Issue
12 / 2
Pages
131-140
https://doi.org/10.13060/23362839.2025.12.2.592
Date of publication
13.10.2025
Keywords:
private rented markets , housing economics

Cite this article

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Watson, A. 2025. ‘‘You Can Touch the Bricks’: The role of Asset Tangibility in Landlord Investment Decision Making.’ Critical Housing Analysis 12 (2): 131-140. https://doi.org/10.13060/23362839.2025.12.2.592