In this article for Mint, Pritika Hingorani, Meenaz Munshi and Rohan Sridhar explain why rental housing must form a critical piece of the push to deliver affordable housing for all. 

"....Rental housing is a critical component of the housing response in urbanizing countries. Across the income spectrum, rental housing allows greater labour mobility. For low-income households that often work in the informal sector, rental housing better suits their income volatility and risk profile. Home ownership requires fixed monthly payments, for an illiquid asset that is subject to market risk and constrains mobility for those who can least afford to be unemployed. It is access to housing, not ownership, that is of primary importance."