How are tenants changing their outlook in the Coronavirus crisis?

A large-scale survey of private tenants has attempted to uncover what renters feel about the sector and their individual properties in light of the Coronavirus crisis.

The survey was of 3,100 tenants aged 18 to 65 and was undertaken by Vaboo, a PropTech platform that creates and manages tenant rewards and engagement platforms for letting agents.  

Vaboo asked if Covid-19 meant that renters would stay in their current property longer: some 43 per cent of respondents answered No and a further 29 per cent hadn’t decided. 

A big majority - over 66 per cent of tenants responding - were worried about the idea of renting for life.

The survey also uncovered that 47 per cent of tenants said they were still likely to buy after their current rental with 31 per cent likely to buy in the next two years.  

But the platform says that not all tenants are pulling out the stops in terms of saving to purchase: only 26 per cent responded that they were saving to move in the next three to four years and a further 20 per cent would be in a position to buy in around five years.

Almost a quarter of tenants surveyed said that they would be renting long term.  

Vaboo says: “With positive engagement, great communication and superb customer service, this gives agents huge potential for long term relationships, regular income and reduction in void periods.”

Another 28 per cent are still unsure of what they want to do in the current climate.