A new investigation has uncovered that the demand for rental accommodation in Britain is increasing, but there is a high degree of satisfaction amongst tenants.
The survey of more than 1,800 Private Rented Sector landlords and tenants uncovered positive sentiment towards the current and future states of the market.
Positive tenants
Undertaken by BDRC Continental on behalf of Paragon Mortgages, the survey shows that despite new measures introduced by the Government to cool the market, rents actually rose in Q1 of 2016.
The total number of buy-to-let landlords reporting demand as increased, either slightly or significantly, stood at 39%. 36% of landlords described tenant demand as stable.
As a whole, the sector is seeing high levels of satisfaction. 79% of tenants questioned said that they are satisfied with their current landlord. 85% of tenants said that they consider their current rental property to be their home, with 69% believing the rate of rent they pay to be good or very good value for money.
Lengths
Interestingly, the average length of time tenants are spending in their current properties presently stands at 7 years. In addition, the average length of time that tenants are spending in the PRS in total is reported to be almost 13 years.
Buy-to-let landlords also agree that the Private Rental Sector plays a vital role within housing in the UK. The social housing sector has lost around one million homes since 1991 and 78% of landlords agree that the PRS has compensated for the decline of this sector.
89% of landlords also noted that the PRS has an important role to play in accommodating people priced out of owning their own home. 74% agree that the sector is vital in housing those excluded from social housing accommodation
Tenants’ satisfaction is high as demand grows
Changing trends
John Heron, Director of Mortgages at Paragon, observed, ‘the rise of the PRS and the decline of the social housing sector have been the predominant trends in the UK’s changing housing tenure over the last 20 years. This data gives an interesting insight into how both tenants and landlords perceive these trends.’[1]
‘It’s good to see tenant satisfaction at such high levels. The sector often suffers from negative PR and the good work done by the vast majority of landlords to provide homes for those who cannot or do not want to buy goes unremarked. This survey clearly demonstrates that the PRS is increasingly providing longer term solutions in housing and that responsible and professional landlords are supporting the provision of housing to those that rely on the PRS for their home,’ Heron added.[1]
[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/tenant-demand-and-satisfaction-remains-high.html