Aggro between landlords and tenants? No - in fact, quite the reverse

New research shows that far from being a war zone between tenants and landlords, the private rental sector is a haven of happiness.

Insurance firm Endsleigh has spoken to 500 landlords and 1,000 tenants and has discovered that 50 per cent of landlords are very happy with their current tenants - and no fewer than 83 per cent of tenants as happy with their current landlord.

Landlords are trying their best to keep tenants happy, apparently, with 28 per cent saying they would absorb the cost of rental increases to keep reliable tenants in their property for a longer period and 40 per cent saying they would redecorate at their tenants’ request.

Around 47 per cent of landlords believe the government is not doing enough to protect the private rental sector investor, insisting that tenants are favoured; 17 per cent of landlords say current rental contracts do not adequately protect them. 

However, 78 per cent of tenants do not feel that the government is doing enough to protect them either from landlords who may put them at unnecessary risk, particularly at occurrences of unexpected costs or legal proceedings.

Despite all this, over two thirds of landlords surveyed agree that the benefits of being a landlord outweigh the time and hassle involved, with 12 per cent using rent as a main source of income and 36 per cent using this as a way of planning for their retirement.