The majority of property owners in the UK are pleased with their property – with those aged over 55 most content.
However, tenants are not as pleased generally with where they live, according to new research from TheHouseShop.
Happiness
In all, 83% of home owners said that they were content with their property, in comparison to 54% of tenants renting a property from a private landlord.
What’s more, tenants were more likely to be more unhappy with their property. 21% of tenants asked said that they were either fairly or very unhappy with their current dwelling, as opposed to 8% of owners.
Nick Marr, co-founder of TheHouseShop, believes that the findings are not overly surprising, given groups such as Shelter and Generation Rent have long called for better standards and protection for tenants.
Homeowners more content than renters
Marr observed: ‘For home owners, the commitment to a property is much more permanent than it is for renters, and buyers will spend a lot of time and effort choosing their ideal property and carrying out improvement works over the years to perfect it.’[1]
‘Tenants, on the other hand, are rarely allowed to make even superficial changes or improvements to their homes, so it is highly unlikely that they will ever achieve the same level of happiness as home owners,’ he added.[1]
Divide
The research uncovered a clear divide between the young and old age groups. The over 55’s were by far the happiest, with 85% happy with their property.
On the other hand, 25 to 34 year olds were least likely to be very happy with their properties, with only 16% stating that this was the case. Only one in twenty over 55’s said that they were unhappy with their home.
[1] http://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/owners-uk-happy-home-private-rented-sector-tenants/