Generation Rent: Are they who you think they are?

The investment industry states that advisors must know their client, as a matter of ethical and business necessity. Best practice we know, regardless of industry but it is certainly true for landlords. Knowing your tenants is crucial, and that doesn’t just mean the ones currently in residence. Understanding renters is a key step in operating successfully as a landlord, which is why we have conducted research to paint a better picture of UK renters today.

Demographics

While the age and gender spectrum of those renting in the UK is far and wide, our research found that younger renters in the UK (aged 18 to 34) are predominantly women (78%) with only 22% men. Possible drivers for this could be young women leaving home earlier to live with friends and men living with family for longer, or perhaps this reflects the increased proportion of women going to university.

With older tenants, the disparity between men and women is less stark; 57% of renters over the age of 55 are men and 43% are women. This gap could be because men are moving out during the later stages of their life, perhaps as a result of broken-down marriages, or because they are leaving the home to their partners and children. Older renters are likely to be in a different stage of their life and might prefer to live further away from the city. They may have a higher income to spend on rent and prefer furnished properties.

Behaviour

When thinking about the type of properties men live in compared to women renters, we found that men are more likely to live in a one bed - 28%, compared to 15% of women. In addition, men are more likely to live alone (39%) than women (26%). This might reflect men’s higher disposable income, leaving them able to live alone while women live with friends or family.

Looking more closely at our research findings, we found 40% of tenants in the UK live in a flat, while 22% live in a semi-detached house and 21% live in a terraced house. Across all tenants, 42% live in a two-bed place, 30% in a three bed, and 20% in a one bed.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most common person to live with is a partner (76%), with children coming in next at 44%. It is worth noting however that most renters don’t live with children (69%), and only 5% live with three or more children in a rented property.

The possibility that men can afford to pay higher rent prices is also supported by our research, which shows that men pay slightly more (£691) for rent than women (£674). While the average rent paid in the UK is £681, which will, of course, vary by location and other factors, the most popular age bracket for rent paid is £451-500. Interestingly, occupants aged 55 and over pay the least for their rent (£658) and 35-54 pay most (£714), while those who fall under the 18-34 age category paid £658 on average.

So what does this mean?

Better understanding and awareness among landlords of what the average UK renter looks like can only be helpful and ensure a more responsible approach to tenancies and hopefully greater professionalism.

Our intel could be helpful in segmenting and attracting prospective tenants. Even the more everyday insights such as what furniture to buy and how to market a vacant property, could and should be taken into consideration.