A high number of tenants happy to rent long-term

While the majority of private renters have the ambition to eventually own their own home, almost a quarter of existing renters are now prepared to accept that they will be living in the private rented sector long-term, but this is not necessarily bad news for them, with almost three quarters of these tenants stating that they were more than happy to carry on renting.

The results follow the publication of the 2017 LSL Corporate Client Department (LSL CCD) Tenant Survey today which reports on the findings and responses from more than 3,200 tenants based across the UK.

The survey, designed to not only understand more about why tenants rent property, bearing in mind their life stage, but also determine their rental priorities and future intentions, revealed that there are now four key life stage groups which tenants can be linked to; ‘Younger Independents’, ‘Moving Up’, ‘Reconciled with Renting’, and ‘Struggling Savers’.

‘Struggling Savers’, the only key life stage group which was not identified by LSL CCD in last year’s survey, generally relates to those who sit in the 26-35 age group, who, despite renting, have a strong desire to buy and are focused on saving for a deposit to own their own home. But despite greater resistance to renting - compared to those ‘Reconciled to Renting’ - 66% remain happy with their rental situation, according to the research.

Key findings from the survey also reveal that there has been growth in the longer term PRS market, with 33% of tenants renting for six years or more, up from 29% in 2016. 

The study also found that most renters want to establish a good relationship with their landlord – which is also considered to have a positive impact on their commitment to longer term tenancies.

Of interest too was the high percentage of tenants who would be prepared to consider new ways of communal living and initiatives to support savings and reduce costs, with 74% of tenants showing a desire for some level of community facility or activity.

David Bond, director and head of LSL PRS, said: “We are delighted to have been able, once again, to conduct such a comprehensive survey and to find out more about how tenants view their current and future rental situation and how, in response, we might work with PRS investors in meeting their particular needs and aspirations.

“It’s imperative that, as demand for rental property continues, the market as a whole responds effectively to this and with such in depth data we now have available to us we’ll be able to inform, educate and advise others about the best way of providing this to meet the varied, and sometimes complex, needs of UK tenants today.”

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