Only a Minority of Tenants want Longer-Term Tenancies, Claims ARLA

Only a minority of tenants want longer-term tenancies, claims the Managing Director of ARLA Propertymark, David Cox.

Speaking at the Paragon Great Buy-to-Let Debate, Cox insisted that the minority of tenants shouldn’t harm the majority that are seeking short-term contracts.

Panellists at the event discussed the recent Housing White Paper from the Government, which included proposals for longer-term tenancies.

Cox said: “If tenants wanted longer-term tenancies, the market would have reacted to it. Tenants don’t ask for three to five-year tenancies, they ask for six to 12-month ones.

“There is probably a tiny percentage that want longer-term. Should the majority be penalised by the minority?”

However, he did back the longer-term tenancies being introduced as a condition of Build to Rent funding, as outlined in the Housing White Paper.

He also addressed the issue of the impending letting agent fee ban for tenants, comparing the fees to what a buyer would pay when applying for a mortgage or getting a property survey.

He added: “If the Government wanted to make renting cheaper, tenant fees are the tiniest slice of it. This is just a populist policy that won’t assist anybody.”

Audience members echoed Cox’s views, with one shouting out that the Government had decided on its policy on banning lettings fee despite not even consulting on it yet.

As a landlord, have you noticed that tenants don’t want longer-term tenancies, or are you receiving requests for terms between three to five years?

In addition, do you agree that the Government should consult on the lettings fee ban before implementing the measure? And how do you think this will affect your lettings business and ability to carry extra costs if charges are passed onto you instead of your tenants?

We will continue to keep you up to date with changes to landlord law and lettings policy.