Sorry, I didn't mean to aim that at anyone personally! I do think there is a causal relationship - surely one person owning ten properties in an area takes those homes off the market for other buyers and pushes up the price of those remaining, which has a knock-on effect for deposit requirements and erodes occupant investment in the property/community.

It's a complicated issue. But being subject to the whims of the UK rental market (short-term leases, year-on-year rent hikes, little guarantee of stability) is another of those things that can make people feel poor, due to a perceived lack of control, regardless of the sums involved.