Tenants rate landlords far more generously than their public reputation would suggest, according to a survey of 4,000 UK adults by Accord Mortgages, the intermediary lending arm of Yorkshire Building Society.
For investors used to being cast as the villains of the housing debate, the findings are a welcome counterweight. They also sit uncomfortably alongside separate broker research showing many landlords are shrinking their holdings or leaving the sector altogether.
The results feature in the lender’s latest policy paper, No Way Home? Restoring Britain’s Housing Ladder. Asked how they would describe their landlord, 40 per cent chose reasonable and the same share picked approachable.
A further 36 per cent described their landlord as fair and 29 per cent as responsive.
The damning labels trailed some way behind. Nine per cent called their landlord negligent, eight per cent unresponsive, seven per cent unreasonable and just five per cent exploitative.
When invited to describe landlords in their own words, most respondents reached for positive terms, among them “good”, “professional”, “friendly” and “understanding”.
Renting valued for flexibility and choice
The survey suggests renters also see value in the tenure itself, not just in the individual running their home. Some 72 per cent agreed that renting provides flexibility for those who do not wish to buy.
Meanwhile, 60 per cent said the existence of private landlords enables choice in the market.
Tom Simpson, managing director of homes at Yorkshire Building Society, said the data points to a gap between rhetoric and lived experience. “Landlords are often portrayed negatively in public debate, yet our findings show a very different picture among those with direct experience of renting, demonstrating a clear disconnect between perception and reality,” he said.
“The vast majority of landlords provide homes that tenants rely on every day, and most are viewed positively by the people living in their properties. While standards must always be maintained and poor practices challenged, it’s important that their contribution is recognised. That’s why our No Way Home? report calls for support for responsible landlords to encourage them to provide and expand the supply of good-quality rental homes.”
He added: “At a time when demand for rental accommodation continues to outstrip supply, we believe that landlords play a crucial role in providing housing choice and flexibility for millions of people.”
Goodwill from tenants has not stopped the drift out of buy-to-let, if mortgage brokers are any guide. Separate Accord research among brokers found that landlords were seen as one of the groups most in need of government support, second only to first-time buyers.
More than one in five brokers (21 per cent) said landlords should be prioritised for intervention.
The supply picture they painted was stark. Some 56 per cent said their landlord clients were actively reducing the size of their portfolios, while 53 per cent reported landlords leaving the private rental sector altogether.
Those figures echo wider industry warnings about a landlord exodus from the private rented sector, and they help explain why the lender’s report frames landlords as part of the solution to the housing shortage rather than the problem.
What this means for investors
The practical value of this survey lies less in the feel-good headline than in the policy argument it supports. Evidence that most tenants regard their landlord as reasonable and fair gives the sector, and the lenders that fund it, a sharper case when pressing government for support aimed at responsible landlords.
It also underlines a commercial truth. Landlords who are seen as approachable and responsive are the ones tenants describe positively, and a well-run relationship is easier to defend when conditions and standards are scrutinised.
Keeping a clear record of property condition and maintenance is one way to prove that professionalism rather than simply claim it.
The bigger tension is one of supply. If more than half of brokers are seeing landlord clients sell down or sell up, the pool of rental homes that tenants apparently value is shrinking, and analysts have linked landlord exits to stronger rental growth.
For investors with the balance sheet to stay, that combination of satisfied tenants, strong demand and thinning competition may prove an opportunity. Whether policymakers respond to the report’s call for support, or continue to treat landlords with suspicion, will go a long way towards deciding how many others choose to stay alongside them.
