Most tenants believe rent is 'value for money'

Rents may have increased significantly in recent years and wages have, in the main, failed to keep up.

Nonetheless, according to new research from the National Landlords Association, most tenants say their rent provides good value for money.

Some 73 per cent of tenants said their rent was "good" or "very good" in terms of value for money.

Only 20 per cent considered it "poor" value, and 3 per cent "very poor".

After a period of rent increases, most landlords haven’t increased rents in the last 12 months, the survey reveals.

Just over 70 per cent of tenants report they’re paying the same rent or a lesser amount (3 per cent) compared with a year ago.

NLA Chairman Carolyn Uphill said: “It’s pleasing to see that so many tenants perceive their rent as good value because landlords face a lot of unjustified criticism for the rising costs of living.

“The NLA has long argued that rent levels in the UK are a consequence of a market economy, with the determining factor at present being a chronic undersupply of affordable housing, compounded by lethargic efforts on the part of Government to foster more construction.

“On the whole the findings are encouraging for tenants: they demonstrate that rents on private lets over the past year have remained fairly stable and show that, in reality, very few feel pressured to move out or actually have their tenancy terminated by their landlord – a common misconception.

“However, most important of all the findings suggest that the majority of landlords are in the business of providing good quality, affordable homes and are making sustainable tenancies a mainstay of most tenants’ rental experience."