‘Majority of tenants are satisfied with their landlord’

Some 81% of tenants surveyed by buy-to-let lender Paragon Mortgages said they are satisfied with their current landlord.

The majority of tenants confirmed that they consider the property they rent to be their home and 70% said they perceived the rent they pay to be either good or very good value for money.

The research, carried out during the first quarter of 2015, asked 500 tenants living in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) for their views on their current tenancy and their future aspirations in terms of housing.

A fifth of respondents said they plan to buy their own home in the long-term, while 35% said they expect to stay in the PRS.

The survey also revealed that 12% of tenants felt uncomfortable approaching their landlord about extending their tenancy agreement and 6% who had asked for a longer tenancy were refused. 

On the other hand, 57% said they had always been happy with the tenancy offered and 17% had asked for a longer-term and their landlord had agreed.

“It is important that we understand the world from the tenant’s viewpoint so we can continue to deliver products that support better standards in the PRS,” said John Heron, director of mortgages at Paragon.

“There has been a lot of noise around the need for longer-term tenancies for some time and I think there is a common misconception that landlords are not willing to be flexible in the tenancies they offer.

Our landlord research demonstrates that many are more than willing to extend terms and in 71% of cases it was the tenant who chose to end the tenancy and not the landlord.”

He added that his firm is a ‘big supporter’ of landlords offering longer-term tenancies.