A new survey in the U.K. has revealed how satisfied tenants are with their landlords (and the corresponding proportion who find themselves less satisfied or in dispute). This finds that 1 in 5 renters saying they do not feel their landlords listen to them.
The survey comes from the finance site money.co.uk, and the data has been shared with Digital Journal. The website surveyed 2,000 tenants to reveal how satisfied they are with their landlords, from slow repair times to lost deposit returns.
How satisfied are tenants with their landlords?
The survey sought to assess, in general terms, how satisfied tenants are with their landlords.
| Outcome | Overall |
| Very satisfied | 29% |
| Satisfied | 52% |
| Neither satisfied nor unsatisfied | 10% |
| Unsatisfied | 7% |
| Very unsatisfied | 1% |
In terms of the satisfied vs dissatisfied cut-off, the majority of renters are fairly satisfied. Over 80 percent of surveyed tenants said they were either satisfied (52 percent) or very satisfied with their landlords (29 percent). At the other end of the scale, 7 percent said they were unsatisfied or very unsatisfied (1 percent).
Those representing the average (median) U.K. salary, that is people earning between £30,000 – £49,999, were least likely to be very satisfied with their landlords (23 percent), while 58 percent of those earning over £200,000 were similarly satisfied.
The highest earners will most likely be paying the most for rent, which could mean that the more expensive the property, the better the service from landlords.
How long do landlords take to make repairs?
A more specific poll question revealed:
| Outcome | Overall | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55 and over |
| Within a week | 26% | 21% | 25% | 28% | 32% | 31% |
| 1-2 weeks | 37% | 38% | 38% | 33% | 37% | 40% |
| 3-4 weeks | 19% | 22% | 18% | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| 1-2 months | 9% | 10% | 10% | 8% | 6% | 5% |
| 3-4 months | 5% | 5% | 3% | 6% | 4% | 6% |
| 5-6 months | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 0% |
| Over 6 months | 3% | 3% | 4% | 3% | 3% | 2% |
The majority of people said that their landlord usually takes between 1 and 2 weeks to carry out any household repairs on their rental properties. However, a considerable number of tenants (18 percent) surveyed said that they have to wait at least a month on average. 18-24 year olds were the most likely age group to receive the quickest repairs from their landlords, closely followed by 25-34 year olds.
Do people feel that their landlords listen to them?
In terms of communication and understanding with the tenant and landlord relationship, the outcome was:
| Outcome | Overall | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55 and over |
| Yes | 79% | 82% | 80% | 77% | 80% | 80% |
| No | 21% | 18% | 20% | 23% | 20% | 20% |
And in terms of median earnings:
| Outcome | Under £15,000 | £15,000 – £29,999 | £30,000 – £44,999 | £45,000 – £74,999 | £75,000 – £124,999 | £125,000 – £199,999 | £200,000 or more |
| Yes | 79% | 78% | 77% | 83% | 86% | 77% | 95% |
| No | 21% | 22% | 23% | 17% | 14% | 23% | 5% |
When asked if they believe that their landlord listens to their concerns and acts on them, 1 in 5 tenants said no. 18 to 24-year-old tenants felt the most valued by landlords, with 82 percent answering yes. The highest earners showed the best landlord relationships, with 95 percent of those earning £200,000 or more saying their landlord listened to them.
How much deposit do people lose?
The final focal point is with whether people have bene ‘good tenants’ and have received their rent deposit back. The outcome here is:
| Outcome | Overall | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55 and over |
| Nothing | 37% | 26% | 35% | 40% | 46% | 62% |
| £1 to £100 | 12% | 18% | 11% | 11% | 8% | 9% |
| £101 to £200 | 13% | 18% | 15% | 9% | 11% | 6% |
| £201 to £300 | 11% | 13% | 11% | 9% | 8% | 6% |
| £301 to £400 | 7% | 11% | 7% | 6% | 4% | 2% |
| £401 to £500 | 5% | 6% | 5% | 5% | 6% | 5% |
| Over £500 | 15% | 8% | 15% | 19% | 17% | 10% |
Of those surveyed, 63 percent of people said that they have lost at least some money to deposits during their time renting. While many said they had lost less, 15 percent of people said that they had lost more than £500 while renting.
18 to 24s are the group most likely to have lost a deposit, with 74 percent having lost some or all of their deposit, compared to just 38 percent of those 55 and over. But 35 to 44-year-olds are most likely to have lost big money, with just under 1 in 5 saying that they’ve lost more than £500.
