The research therefore has the following objectives:

To develop a new understanding of:
1. The changing levels of rents (both private and social) and the quality and location of available housing.
2. The impact of recent and forthcoming government policies on social and private tenants, including the changes to Housing Benefit and the overall benefit caps.
3. Migration: The numbers of people forced to relocate from rural areas, or unable to live where they would choose to do so 

The research aimed to explore differences between rural areas, as well as between rural and urban areas overall.