People in the UK want longer tenancies, new research has found, and it seem that landlords also want to be able to provide more stable, longer lets.
One new piece of research show that four in 10 tenants expect to rent a property for up to 10 years while the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) believes that it is possible to provide the stability that they want but change to lending rules are needed.
The average length of tenancy in the private rented sector is now 4.3 years, up from four years 12 months ago, according to the latest figures from the English Housing Survey. The data also shows that around two thirds of tenants in the private rented sector have been in their existing property for more than three years and half for five or more years.
This could be connected to the fact that more families are renting homes and don’t want to keep moving regularly once they have put down roots in terms of schools and jobs. The survey figures show that the number of tenants with children has increased from 30% in 2005/2006 to 36% in 2015/2016.
The survey report points out that given the sizeable growth in the overall number of private renters over this period, this 6% increase equates to about 945,000 more households in the private rented sector with children.
Overall in 2015/2016, the private rented sector accounted for 4.5 million or 20% of households and while throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the proportion of private rented households was steady at around 10%, the sector has more than doubled in size since 2002.
The figures also suggest that families who rent are a stable options for landlords. The majority, some 74%, of private renters were working, with 62% in full-time work and 12% in part-time work and a substantial number have been in the sector some time with 25% for five to nine years and 24% for more than 10 years.
According to the RLA landlords want stability too and many are happy to have tenants who don’t move regularly. ‘It is good for both tenants who want security and landlords who have stable tenancies,’ said RLA chairman Alan Ward.
‘It is time to focus not on heavy handed legislation, but looking at what more can be done to break the barriers preventing landlords offering longer tenancies, such as restrictions imposed by mortgage lenders. Landlords are stepping up and providing the stability that many tenants need and want,’ he added.
Research from property and construction consultants McBains Cooper shows that four in 10 tenants are in it for the long term. Indeed, in London almost one in three people believed they would continue to rent for the next five to 10 years.
‘Our survey shows that renting for the longer term is becoming more common. For some it might be because they are priced out of the housing market, for others, it may also reflect a more Continental attitude where people are content to rent rather than buy,’ said Michael Thirkettle, chief executive of McBains Cooper.
