What Tenants Want From Their Rental Home
The likes and dislikes of tenants when looking for a rental home have been revealed in a new survey.
Acording to Landbay, who questioned more than 2,000 private tenants across the country, they say that a pet-friendly rented home is the most desirable attribute in the market.
Of those tenants questioned, 14% said they would like pets being allowed as their most important criteria with 27% in the North East saying so - and just 3% of London's tenants saying they want pet-friendly accommodation.
The second most popular attribute is an unfurnished rental property for 12% of tenants with those aged over 55 being five times more likely to want an unfurnished home than younger people.
The third most important aspect is a garden with 11% of tenants and 15% of parents said they would prioritise the property having a garden, compared to a rented home without one.
The fourth and fifth most wanted attributes are for off-street parking and the quality of the decoration.
Landbay's director Deborah Mudway said: "This is interesting reading for landlords who may believe little luxuries make all the difference when, in fact, that could not be further from the truth.
"Our research shows that tenants value two attributes above all others and are free to bring in - they want their property to feel like a home by bringing pets and their furniture.
"Aside from a deep clean when the tenancy ends, it isn't really hard for landlords to implement this."
Rents rise in August
Meanwhile, it's been revealed that rents have increased in most of the UK's regions in August and void periods have fallen.
According to the Goodlord, a property technology firm, the number of void periods fell to a record low, with the average now 11 days.
Also, several regions have seen a spike in rent costs which brings the average rise to a national year high. The biggest spike was seen for South West rents, which jumped by 20% to reach £1,126.
Goodlord's chief executive, Tom Mundy, said: "August is a busy month and the numbers demonstrate demand is rising for quality rental homes.
"We see big rental cost jumps through most regions, which demonstrates the releasing of pent-up demand from tenants and void periods are at a year-to-date low in nearly every region which should be welcomed by agents and landlords alike."
He added that the best region for recording low void period was the North East, with an average of seven days, while in the West Midlands it can take 15 days to fill an empty property.
