This sector study looks at the demographic make-up of the tenants living in the housing association sector in England’s rural locations. It has been produced on behalf of the Housing Corporation by Andy Tice from the Centre of Urban and Regional Studies, University of Birmingham. It uses the recently developed Settlement Gazetteer to introduce the concept of settlement scale, in order to align the analysis with the ongoing debate concerning rural sustainability.

The study demonstrates that both at the national and regional level there is considerable diversity within the sector, both in terms of tenant profile and how rural stock is used. The process and effects of ‘residualisation’ in rural areas are also explored. Finally, the study considers the relationship between regional investment priorities and actual tenancy profiles.