Most Tenants Satisfied With Private Rented Sector

The annual English Housing Survey shows that more tenants are satisfied with the private rented sector than the social sector. 83% of tenants were found to be satisfied renting privately, whereas 81% of social tenants were satisfied. Additionally, the survey shows the improvement in standards of private rented housing, as well as a decrease in rents in real terms.

Despite an amazing 40% of properties in the private rented sector being over 100 years old, the proportion of private rented homes classed as “non-decent” fell from 47% to 33% between 2006 and 2012.

Rents in the social sector were found to have risen on average by 25.3% between 2008/09 and 2012/13, whereas private sector rents increased just 6.5%. As inflation averaged 3.1% a year from 2008 to 2012, private sector rents actually fell in real terms.

Luke Gidney, director of Let-Leeds, said, “It is pleasing to see the significant progress of the private sector reflected in the data. But even though standards are up and rents are down, we won’t allow ourselves to slack off. We will continue to dedicate ourselves to providing the best possible service for both our tenants and our landlords.”

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