> From memory and reading I've done about ED, I don't think it's the case that the house were built for rental. It happened that in the 1880s there was a glut of newly built houses, and many of the streets in the area stood empty for a long time after being built. I also seem to recall that this coincided with a cyclical and national economic recession in the 1880s. I suspect that the rental market was a way of getting them occupied at the time. The point about the Great Depression is interesting. I hadn't thought about this before. However, I don't think that Dyos and the like can be applied to the specific area bounded by East Dulwich Road, Peckham Rye (Road), Barry Road and Lordship Lane. I understand that the small properties that dominate this area were specifically built for rental by the skilled working class, and low rank white collar managerial staff.