What do tenants want? Parking and pets top the list of 'must haves'

New research from Zoopla suggests that parking sits firmly at the top of requirements for renters - but with pet-friendly facilities a growing expectation.

The portal analysed search data from its keyword property search tool to reveal the most sought-after features of a rental home. 

Parking was consistently ranked as the most frequently searched feature of rental homes across all regions of Great Britain except the North East of England, Scotland and Wales where ‘garage’ and ‘furnished’ took the top spots. 

The search term ‘garage’ was ranked as the second most searched property term.

Rental homes that allow pets are also in high demand with the search term ‘pets’ featuring in the top three most searched property features in every region across Britain. 

The search term has grown in popularity in the last year, jumping from fifth place to third in the national rankings and appearing for the first time in the top 10 most searched rental property terms by Londoners. 

On a regional level, London renters have the most luxurious requirements; ‘gym’ and ‘ensuite’ featured in the top 10 most searched lettings terms in the capital yet they didn’t appear in the top requirements for renters in any other region.

In the North East and South West, home hunters are after countryside dwellings, with ‘rural’ and ‘cottage’ featuring on tenants’ lists of priorities in these regions whilst renters in the North West of England had ‘garden’ and ‘balcony’ featuring in the top 10.

Zoopla also analysed viewings data to reveal the most viewed property types across the nation. 

Unsurprisingly, three-bedroom houses are the most frequently viewed properties; this was the case for every region except for the capital where two-bedroom flats pipped the three-bedroom house to the post.