High rents a far bigger concern for tenants than agents’ fees

The biggest concerns of tenants are the cost of renting and buying.

However, despite the efforts of various parties to woo them, 40% have no view as to which party should form the next government to serve tenants’ interests best.

The findings are in a survey of 500 tenants by online lettings business Upad.

The largest age group in the survey were between 25 and 34 years old with the 35 to 44s the next largest. Together they made up nearly 57% of the sample, reflecting national demographics.

Their top issue was the cost of renting (50.1%). This was followed by the quality of accommodation and agent fees in equal second (both 12%).

Then came high deposits (7.3%) followed by a fear of future rent increases (3.1%).

But despite a lot of heat in the press recently about revenge evictions and the regulation of landlords, both these issues figured weakly as concerns.

While a quarter of tenants thought a Labour government would best serve their interests, four in ten had no opinion.

The cost of buying a first home, a desire to be given more help to get on the property ladder and the building of more affordable homes were all considered to be important policies.

Combined, these issues were the most important ones for 56% of those who responded to the Upad survey.

However, abolishing letting agent fees was the top concern for 20%. Secure tenancies, despite many parties announcing they will introduce them, only got the vote of 9.6% as the ‘most important’ issue.

James Davis, CEO of Upad, said: “What was most obvious from our research was how financially squeezed many tenants feel.

“Time and again their answers showed that it was the high costs of renting, and the even higher costs of buying their first home, which most worries them.”

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