# Could rising self-employment spell trouble for the rental market?
Author:  Pal Sinha,Barnali
Author URL: https://economystandard.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali/
Published: 2021-08-17
Category: Business
Category URL: https://economystandard.com/category/business/
Meta Title: Record Rise in Solo Self-Employment Projected for 2021
Meta Description: Record rise in solo self-employment projected for 2021. Housing Hand offers solutions for self-employed individuals facing rental challenges.
URL: https://economystandard.com/could-rising-self-employment-spell-trouble-for-the-rental-market/

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- **Record rise in solo self-employment projected for 2021**
- **Number of self-employed women has risen by 57% in past 10 years**

·     **Housing Hand offering solution for both landlords and self-employed renters**

More people than ever are leaving the traditional 9-5 behind and going down the self-employed route instead. Towards the end of 2019, self-employed workers in the UK surpassed the five million mark for the first time. According to the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE), it is women who are driving the growth, with the number of self-employed women rising by 57% in the past decade (compared to 25% for men).

Meanwhile, the Institute of Fiscal Studies has projected a ‘record rise in solo self-employment’ in 2021.

While some individuals have been forced into self-employment through Covid’s impact on the jobs market, IPSE’s research has found that many of those opting out of working for someone else have done so for positive reasons.

**_“We have also found they are going into self-employment for overwhelmingly positive reasons like having more freedom to choose where they work (83% of freelancers said this was a factor), when they work (84%) and having a better work-life balance (73%).”_**

**Inna Yordanova, Senior Researcher, IPSE**

So far, so positive, but being self-employed has wider implications than just work/life balance. Chief among these is the difficulties that self-employed individuals can sometimes experience in accessing rental properties.

UK rental guarantor service [**Housing Hand**](https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001Wwvlb2JiCJtHwwZ7cTKAxV018lafb-4rKi3AQEfRKg76nMzIoSpUV4UcaeMm9daay_5IJyUUmNo5SBPn0awaOudPzk0MM2KP25VJELc6er91dYBSJ7vYpQp_-hFEJyWFqUmVolM3n2cGAgFkE03SOLmWGw4a2wfO&c=rvOFztner2tfL5njyE4Wsl7unzZ6uBz4EWoGyZpmAuJI3RTtZA8agA==&ch=es7bFc8zuZpbaMye6__KY_z_sEhXP4LG002W2uDMK-nlcBnkf17ElQ==) has been working with self-employed renters for years. Around 15% of those who have asked the company to act as a guarantor since 2018 have been self-employed.

**_“There’s no denying it can be trickier to access rental accommodation when you’re self-employed but it’s just a question of being prepared. Landlords, quite rightly, need to know that their tenants can afford a long-term commitment to renting the property. For self-employed renters, this may mean providing some form of extra reassurance, such as a guarantor.”_**

**James Maguire, Head of Sales and Business Development,** [**Housing Hand**](https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001Wwvlb2JiCJtHwwZ7cTKAxV018lafb-4rKi3AQEfRKg76nMzIoSpUV4UcaeMm9daay_5IJyUUmNo5SBPn0awaOudPzk0MM2KP25VJELc6er91dYBSJ7vYpQp_-hFEJyWFqUmVolM3n2cGAgFkE03SOLmWGw4a2wfO&c=rvOFztner2tfL5njyE4Wsl7unzZ6uBz4EWoGyZpmAuJI3RTtZA8agA==&ch=es7bFc8zuZpbaMye6__KY_z_sEhXP4LG002W2uDMK-nlcBnkf17ElQ==)

As a rental guarantor service, Housing Hand is able to guarantee the rent for the whole of the tenancy – precisely the kind of reassurance that landlords need. Having this service in place can avoid situations where landlords ask for six months’ rent upfront (or more).

**_“For landlords, having to arrange to get six months’ rent upfront is far from ideal, and for many renters, it’s just too big an ask. With the number of self-employed people rising, we need strategies and solutions in place that provide both landlords and tenants with solutions to ensure that renting a home is a smooth and hassle-free process.”_**

**Terry Mason, Group Operations Director,** [**Housing Hand**](https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001Wwvlb2JiCJtHwwZ7cTKAxV018lafb-4rKi3AQEfRKg76nMzIoSpUV4UcaeMm9daay_5IJyUUmNo5SBPn0awaOudPzk0MM2KP25VJELc6er91dYBSJ7vYpQp_-hFEJyWFqUmVolM3n2cGAgFkE03SOLmWGw4a2wfO&c=rvOFztner2tfL5njyE4Wsl7unzZ6uBz4EWoGyZpmAuJI3RTtZA8agA==&ch=es7bFc8zuZpbaMye6__KY_z_sEhXP4LG002W2uDMK-nlcBnkf17ElQ==)


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