Majority of private landlords are happy with their tenant

A new survey has found that despite horror stories about tenants from hell, most landlords are actually happy with the people currently living in their property.

The research was carried out by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme and questioned three-hundred landlords who are registered with the initiative that protects deposits. Nine out of ten said they were either satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of tenant, with reasons for this including: paying the rent on time, taking care of the property, carrying out simple repairs and co-operating with all other issues. Most private landlords feel tenants’ behaviour was more than satisfactory, while one fifth think the behaviour was continually improving. The biggest worry for landlords appears to be dealing with rent arrears and complying with all of the regulations relating to being a landlord.

Out of the landlords polled, 41% had been letting out homes for more than a decade. A further 41% had been providing homes in the private rented sector for between two and ten years and 18% had been landlords for less than two years. All of them have had landlord insurance for the whole time they have worked in the privately rented sector. Despite much attention on the subject in the media, only 6% were accidental landlords.

Chief Executive of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, Steve Harriott, said “These findings from our first national survey of landlords show a positive picture of landlord and tenant relations that is very welcome. It augurs well for the private rented sector and goes against all the negative stories that are reported in the press.”

There were also some interesting findings regarding deposits. Just over half of those polled (52%) thought compulsory deposit protection was a good idea, while just under a third (31%) feel that it could turn out to be a hindrance.

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