Our survey of tenants provides them with a channel to share their rental experiences, giving their view of the market – from how they've found their current tenancies, to the ease of moving to a new property.
We've continued to expand the number of questions we ask tenants since our first survey, increasing the range of insights we can draw from their responses. 1,203 tenants responded to our October 2024 survey, drawn from a range of demographic backgrounds.
Over the course of the last year, the number of tenants moving into new rentals has decreased significantly, with only 20% having moved in the last six months. This is down 12% from six months ago and 26% compared to this time last year.
Over half of all tenants have now been in the same tenancy between one to five years, an increase of 12% in just the last six months and consistent with the continuing rise of average tenancy lengths.
Of those that have been in the same property for more than a year, 35% stated they wanted to move but couldn't.
Of those tenants who haven't moved, 51% said they'd seen rents increase, 1% more than in our last survey. Of those experiencing rent rises, 82% are now paying up to a quarter more than previously and 18% are paying over a quarter more.
Whether tenants did or didn't move, the top three reasons given for wanting to rent a new property are:
28%
to live in a property in better condition.
23%
to live in a less expensive property.
19%
to live in a larger property.
Since our last survey, fewer tenants experienced hardships (like having to cut back on essentials, being unable to save for the future or afford luxuries like meals out) as a result of having to pay higher rent, possibly a reflection of recent wage inflation and a general easing in some cost of living factors.
Top changes tenants believe would help renters
37%
Improvements to rent controls such as rent freeze and limiting rent increases.
24%
More regulation to improve protections for tenants and increase long-term security of tenure.
18%
Improved housing standards in the rental sector.
Respondent demographics
Have you moved into a rental property during the past year?
Movers
Renting experiences
Non - movers
