After the collapse of all kinds of real estate bubbles in the wake of the global financial crisis the private rental sector has been rediscovered by researchers and housing policy in many countries. Following the bursting of various mortgage bubbles everyone seems to be aware now of the disadvantages of an extremely high rate of homeownership. Conversely, the benefits of a diversified and flexible private rental sector are increasingly recognized. In this discussion the German private rental sector can serve as a model, not least because of its sheer relative size. Apart from that, the German...