New research focused on over 1,180 tenants, conducted by leading online letting agent Upad, has highlighted a huge discrepancy in the percentage of tenants who want to meet their landlord before moving into a property and those that actually do.
Despite 84% of tenants wanting to meet their landlord before they move in, only 46% of them do. Further research also revealed that 61% of tenants prefer dealing directly with self-managing landlords rather than with a letting agent.
Upad also asked tenants what they wanted to see more of when it comes to looking for, and moving into, a property, discovering that:
• 33% of tenants expect their property to have Wi-Fi already up and running when they move in
• 22% of tenants want more detail in property adverts, to save time asking questions and attending viewings
• 17% of tenants want landlords to provide more flexibility around pets and other conditions commonly written into property adverts and tenancy agreements.
Upad founder James Davis, himself a portfolio landlord, commented, “These findings prove that tenants want an engaged and empowered landlord. They want a landlord that lets their properties with a solid understanding of the needs of the 21st century tenant.
“This means landlords conducting viewings themselves and not subbing it out to a letting agent; a focus on ensuring the property is set-up for maximum Wi-Fi speed rather than thinking one can get away with it, or taking the view that it’s the tenants problem to solve.
“We can’t afford to be passive, tight landlords, as while potentially offering savings in the short-term, in reality it very much works against maximizing our rental property business and returns.”
