A recent report has shown that tenants in private rental property in the UK are more satisfied than ever before with their current rental accommodation. The UK housing market has been experiencing considerable changes over the past few years. We’ve witnessed an economic crash, the growth of the private rental sector and changing tax policies that have affected everyone. One key trend is the increase in renters in the UK, and recent research has shown the high quality of UK rental accommodation and widely satisfied tenants.
There are more tenants than ever in the UK, a considerable 20% of the population, and this has been predicted to rise even further in the future. With so many new renters, it is encouraging to know that tenants are happier than ever. Recent figures have shown that the tenant-landlord relationship is far more positive than we are often led to believe. The English Housing Survey recently discovered that 84%, a clear majority, of tenants are satisfied with the property they live in. Most private landlords continue to provide good quality homes that people are happy to live in.
A further 68% were either very or fairly satisfied with their current rental accommodation, which is great news for UK landlords and tenants. David Smith from the Residential Landlords Association, who carried out the research, said “It shows once again that the vast majority of private sector landlords do a good job and look after their properties and tenants properly.”
The survey also revealed that 72% of tenants are satisfied with how their landlord carries out maintenance and repairs. Again, we are often told that landlords don’t bother with this and tenants in rental accommodation have a terrible time getting things fixed. But logically it makes sense that a landlord will prioritise looking after their tenants. Tenants provide valuable monthly income and providing great service and having happy tenants is obviously ideal. Like any business, customer satisfaction is essential, and long-term tenants who are happy with their accommodation provide investors with a valuable steady source of income. It is also in a landlord’s best interest to look after their property and keep it in great condition. After investing considerably into the property, making sure it retains its value and continues to be high quality is obvious. When the time comes to sell on the property, keeping it in good condition gets rid of the need for expensive work or redecoration.
The findings show a slow and steady increase in how satisfied private rental tenants were year on year. There has been a marked increase in the number of satisfied tenants compared to previous English Housing Survey reports , showing clear improvements in the quality of private rental sector. In 2015-16, only 79% of renters were satisfied with their rental status, and 9% were very dissatisfied. In 2014-15 the research showed that only 65% of tenants satisfied with their rental property. This steady increase in the satisfaction of tenants suggests that the UK private rental sector is improving, and as more people live in private rental accommodation, standards are rising too.
If you are considering becoming a landlord, then RW Invest have a range of high end, great value rental properties that provide tenants with first-rate homes and landlords with excellent returns. They work with trusted developers and property management companies so that both tenants and landlords can benefit from their property investment.
