New Book Links Rental Sector Profits to Modern Capitalist Inequality

In *Beyond Generation Rent*, Michael Byrne frames the private rental market as a system that generates economic rent for landlords by exploiting scarce housing assets and the personal value tenants add to their homes. He documents the expansion of renters’ unions and recent rent-control policies in Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Scotland, linking these movements to a broader critique of neoliberal real-estate finance. Byrne contrasts the “generation rent” narrative with class-based analyses, arguing that the core divide is between renters and property owners of all ages.

He highlights notable tenant victories, such as Scotland’s ban on no-fault evictions and Berlin’s referendum to expropriate corporate landlords, while acknowledging that the referendum’s outcomes remain pending. The book omits a thorough treatment of social housing and suggests further study of the fast-growing build-to-rent sector, which may exacerbate affordability challenges.