What do tenants want from their homes in 2024? Rightmove’s latest report shows that they are adjusting their expectations amid rising rents.
Suburban and rural rental markets could get a boost this year. The platform says that 54% of renters were looking to move out of their current city, up from 51% in 2022. While some of them could be looking for more spacious homes or rural lifestyles, Rightmove chalks the trend up to rising rents and tight supply in cities.
Despite this, cities still have plenty of pull for tenants. Rightmove’s top 5 most searched for locations were London, Manchester, Bristol, Glasgow and Birmingham.
What other features are tenants looking for?
Rightmove isn’t the only industry supplier to look into tenant preferences. Deposit alternative provider flatfair found, unsurprisingly, that rent and deposit size are tenants’ top priority when finding somewhere to rent. A decisive 61% of those surveyed picked this as their top priority.
The number two choice on flatfair’s survey was a parking space, while fully-furnished properties came in third. Rightmove also saw increased demand for these amenities, as well as a growing number of searches for pet-friendly homes and rents that include bills.
Offering these features could give landlords a competitive advantage. Last year, deposit alternative provider Zero Deposit found that just 9% of properties accept pets, while only 12% include bills in the rent.
But at the same time, they’re likely to get plenty of applicants even without paying for tenants’ utility use and pet damage. Rental demand is 34% above the five-year average, according to Fine and Country. Unless investment in the private rented sector increases, it is likely to be tenants who will have to adjust their priorities.
Other tenant headlines
Over 1.5m private tenants to be better off thanks to LHA move – Landlord Today
Tenants with private heat networks shocked to be ‘back-billed’ for hundreds – The Guardian
Tribunal rules tenant at fault for safety check breach – LandlordZONE
