Tenancies need to change to suit tenants and landlords, says new study

Almost one in nine tenants in the private rented sector have had to move home due to a change in the ownership of the property, new research has found.

This is despite almost 70% of renters not being bothered about who their landlord is with 78% saying they just want to remain in their home even if it is sold to another landlord.

The study from Vesta Property also found that the important thing is having continuity in terms of their tenancy agreement and rent with 79% thinking that it was ridiculous for landlords to evict tenants simply for the new landlord to replace them.

Russell Gould, chief executive officer of Vesta Property, believes is sends a strong message that tenants want the ability to stay in their homes rather than short term tenancies.

He thinks this also points to three year tenancies, which the Government has discussed introducing, may not be sufficient with tenants wanting even longer security.

‘The answer is not to make the system more rigid, it is to move with the times and mould it into something that works for both landlords and tenants alike,’ he said.

He also said that if a landlord needed to sell their property, they should have the right to do that within a timeframe that suited them while settled tenants should not suffer and lose their home because of it.

‘The practice of advising a landlord to evict tenants in order to sell a property is outdated.
New models like Vesta offering tenant in place sale and purchase, satisfy both the needs of tenants who want to keep their home and landlords or investors, who wish to sell or buy,’ he added.