More than three-quarters (81 per cent) of people renting privately are satisfied with their landlord, a new survey made on behalf of specialist buy-to-let lender, Paragon Mortgages, found.
Over half (57 per cent) of the polled 500 renters said they have always been happy with the tenancy offered by their landlord and only 12 per cent said they do not feel comfortable asking for a tenancy extension.
At 70 per cent, the proportion of tenants who believe their rent is good or very good value for money is also considerable.
Most of them (82 per cent) also consider the property they are renting to be their home.
Looking ahead, over a third (35 per cent) of tenants said they will remain in the private rented sector in the long term, while a fifth of tenants said they want to own a home in the future.
John Heron, director of mortgages at Paragon, said:
“The tenant research for the first quarter of 2015 is really interesting. It is important that we understand the world from the tenant’s viewpoint so we can continue to deliver products that support better standards in the private rented sector.
“There has been a lot of noise around the need for longer-term tenancies for some time and I think there is a common misconception that landlords are not willing to be flexible in the tenancies they offer. Our landlord research demonstrates that many are more than willing to extend terms and in 71 per cent of cases it was the tenant who chose to end the tenancy and not the landlord.
“We are big supporters of offering longer-term tenancies and we were one of the first buy-to-let lenders to announce we would support the Government’s new model lease and allow landlords to offer 36 month tenancies to those tenants who need that extra security, as we believe this is our social responsibility.”