Do Landlords Care About Gender of Tenants?
New research has found that over half of private property landlords care about the sex of their tenants.
Whether a tenant is male or female is a genuine concern for 57.4% of respondents in a survey lead by online lettings agency Upad.
Do Landlords Care About Gender of Tenants?
Stereotypes of men being good at general maintenance and women being clean and tidy were at the forefront of findings. The survey also found that landlords are more in favour of couples renting, as both parties will fulfil certain jobs in the house.
Upad’s Chief Executive Officer, James Davis, said: “Like it or not, gender can sometimes be a deciding factor in whether a person makes the cut even in the rental arena. In our survey, we really wanted to see if the sex of a prospective tenant actually matters to landlords, and from our research it appears that it does.”1
One landlord told the survey that he prefers male renters. “Men make better tenants,” they say. “They can usually change light bulbs, they know how the central heating works, and they’re more likely to carry out minor repairs than women.”
They went on to explain their preference further: “Men are more easy going, they take care of the small things, generally they just want a roof over their heads.”1
Another landlord would rather have a female tenant. They said: “On average, females are tidier which means less maintenance. Females also seem to like their outside space being picturesque and generally do more in the garden such as cutting the lawn and keeping it tidy. Females are also more in control of finances than males, I find I get on time payments from female tenants and they are also more likely to stay put.”1
Davis, who is a landlord himself, explained his preference: “Both genders have their pros and cons, but ideally I prefer couples as tenants. You often find one is good at keeping things clean and tidy and the other is good at sorting out the little things. Also, couples tend to be the best long term tenants particularly if they have a child. I just tend to avoid sharers in favour of couples.”1
1 http://www.landlordexpert.co.uk/blog/2012/08/13/do-uk-landlords-care-about-the-sex-of-their-tenants/