Travel & transport links

Being close to public transport is crucial for tenants. 52% of tenants live within five minutes of their nearest public transport. This rises to 73% if you expand the catchment to 10 minutes.

London respondents are prepared to travel for longer to get to work, thus highlighting the affordability pressures of the London market. 60% of London respondents travel for more than half an hour to work, compared to just 30% of other respondents.

Convenient location

There are other factors around the location of the property which also rated highly. Almost half (49%) of all respondents said that being close to work or university was important. The figure rises to 70% in London.

Location is even more important to wealthier Londoners with 75% of those with household incomes of £80,000 or more stating proximity to work or university is a priority. Moreover, 47% also said that they were prepared to pay extra for the convenience compared to 38% of all respondents.

More than half (55%) of younger respondents aged between 18 and 25 were also prepared to pay more to live near work or university while just 20% of those over 45 would be happy to pay extra.

Families with children found it more important to be close to good schools (48%), and 42% of them were willing to pay more. Higher income households found it important to be close to a gym (12%) and 13% were willing to pay more.

Parking

Respondents preferred allocated off-street parking over on-street parking. However, few respondents were willing to pay higher rent for access to off-street parking. The proportion of people who feel that car clubs are important is currently very low. However, the provision of car clubs has been increasing in cities, and car clubs often provide a good solution in developments where planning restrictions prevent on- or off-street parking.

Families & childcare

Tenants are renting for longer and the profile of those tenants is changing to include more families with children. They rate having access to nursery or childcare much more highly than specifically having childcare within the scheme or building. Having a communal outside play area is important and they are equally willing to pay more for it, but this feature is rated lower than other additional space.

Design and features

Having more space is most important (28%). This was significantly more important to families with children (47%) but less important to those without children or sharers. Families and households on mid- to high-income are more likely to pay additional rent to have a larger property. Sharers and renters on higher income are more willing to pay more to have an en suite for every bedroom.

Open plan kitchens are rated more highly by families and those aged 18 to 25, but liked less by older households.

Tenants prefer to have a private balcony over a winter garden or communal roof garden. Private gardens are only rated by 6%.

New property is favoured by 7%, and 11% would pay a premium for it. Households under 35 favour it more strongly than older households aged over 45.

The value drivers

Clean internal areas and general upkeep of the grounds rank very highly in terms of overall importance to all respondents. Beyond that, there are certain features for which households on mid- to high-incomes are willing to pay more. Among the more affluent, an on-site gym, followed by a pool, top the list.

The greatest difference between high-income renters and those on lower incomes relate to the following amenities (in this order): on-site gym, on-site pool, on-site cleaner to hire, 24 hour concierge, hotel-style lobby, Wi-Fi internet and 24-hour security.

The search for quality

When tenants were asked what prompted their last move, there was broad consistency between London and other cities. The most important factor was the search for better quality rented property.

Qualitative analysis of tenant comments revealed that many had experienced damp and mould, they were unhappy with the fixtures and fittings in their rental property, and felt their landlord replaced broken appliances with very poor standard equipment. Quality of the property also relates to the management and repairs, and essentially how the landlord deals with repairs.

A quarter of the tenants we surveyed moved out of their last rental property due to poor management. Many of the tenants felt their landlord was hard to reach or did not listen. Some would prefer to report problems online, or via email.

Longer term tenancies

Not all tenants want longer tenancies. Younger respondents, particularly those under 24, prefer flexibility. However, among the over-35s, more respondents favoured longer tenancies. Almost half of those aged 45 prefer longer tenancies.

Institutions are better placed to deliver longer tenancy options than private buy-to-let investors, who have more need for flexibility.

This is an opportunity for the emerging build-to-rent market where investors can distinguish themselves from the rest of the market.

The survey suggests there is a place for longer tenancies, but it is not a prerequisite. We do not need regulation. Flexibility, for short and long tenancies, must remain in the private rented sector.

Key features

Additional comments from tenants surveyed brought up certain themes. Safety is high up on the list when tenants consider a prospective area or property. In addition, many tenants commented that they moved because their previous neighbours were causing a problem. Noise was a repeated theme, with tenants complaining of noise from neighbouring properties as well as traffic from the street. Energy efficiency was a relevant factor, mainly with regard to heating and insulation. Recycling was also important to some.

Storage and space was another key concern. The importance of bike storage was mentioned and some brought up the importance of having enough space for bulky items such as a vacuum cleaner. In addition, when asked whether they would be prepared to pay a higher rent to have secure storage outside the apartment (for sports equipment, luggage or bulky possessions), 12% of all respondents would pay more rent.

Another key area of discussion was the size of rooms with particular focus on having double rooms with enough space for bedroom furniture. Having equal sized bedrooms was also important to sharers.

Taken from
Spotlight: What do tenants really want?