The Private Rented Sector Review

1) The tenancy deposit market 2) The landlord's view 3) The tenant's view

The tenant's view

Our survey of tenants provides them with the opportunity to share their rental experiences and give their view of the market – from how they've sourced their current tenancies, to the ease of moving to a new property.

The 1,230 tenants that responded to our latest survey were drawn from a range of demographic backgrounds.

The number of tenants moving into new rentals continues to fall. Only 16% of respondents stated they moved in the last 12 months, down from 20% in October 2024 and 32% from this time last year.

36% told us they would have liked to move, a 1% increase from our last survey. This is likely due to a lack of suitable properties they can afford or because they get outbid by other prospective tenants. Many who would like to move found the quality of the property they currently live in unsatisfactory.

25%

said they were forced to stay living in a property with issues such as dampness or damage

20%

are paying more than they can afford in their current home

15%

say they would like to move as their current property is too small

Tenants who moved told us they found it harder than previously as rents increase, in many cases having to move outside their preferred area to find affordable tenancies.

63%

are paying a higher rent than their previous property

54%

had to pay more than a month's rent upfront to secure their new property, with 49% of those paying two to three months upfront, an increase of 5% from October 2024

15%

had to put in an offer over the listed price, with more than half of those (61%) offering 0-10% more

81%

saw the time it takes for them to commute to work increase, with 43% of those moving telling us it increased by 15-30 minutes each way, up from 30% in October 2024

With many businesses pushing for a return to office, this could drive conflict between employers and their staff, as renters not only contend with increasing costs to rent the property they would like, but also wrestle with the costs to commute to their place of work.

The Renters' Rights Bill

Many of the rental challenges tenants currently face, like paying over the advertised rental rate or providing a large amount of rent upfront, are addressed within the scope of the Renters' Rights Bill. This is currently progressing through the legislative phases in Parliament. Key elements of the proposed Bill that could help tenants with the challenges of finding and securing alternative rentals, and coping with existing rental costs include:

rent can only be increased once per year by serving the correct legal notice
landlords can only request one month's rent in advance (in addition to a security deposit) – demanding multiple months upfront will no longer be permitted
landlords must publish the agreed rent and cannot ask for or accept bids above this amount

While these measures are likely to aid tenants, they'll add to the pressures facing landlords. With many smaller landlords already considering exiting the PRS, could an unintended consequence be further pressure on the cost and availability of housing for renters?

Tenants that moved in the last year vs those that didn't

We asked tenants if they'd moved in the last 12 months. Many of the subsequent questions we asked were dependent on their response to this question.

Tenants that moved in the last year

Movers

Where tenants told us they'd moved in the last six months we asked:

How easy or difficult was it to secure your present rental property?

How easy or difficult was it

This graph shows tenant experiences of securing the property. In our latest wave, 27% found it neither easy nor difficult to secure their property, although 43% of tenants found it difficult or very difficult.

Percentage of tenants experiencing rent increases

We asked all tenants who moved, how much of their rent increased in the new property.

Percentage of tenants experiencing rent increases