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Despite the fact that the government and various tenant pressure groups have been claiming for quite some time that renters crave the security of long-term tenancy agreements, tenants themselves apparently think quite the opposite.
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DPS Survey
A large survey of 40,000 renters carried out by The Deposit Protection Group has revealed that 80% of people living in rental accommodation prefer tenancies lasting 12 months or less and 34% of those wanted tenancies less than six months in length. This suggests the oft-peddled belief that tenants want longer tenancies is a myth.
One respondent told the DPS:
“I’m currently working on a short-term contract, so a shorter tenancy works far better for me. The nature of my work means I move around so I don’t want to be trapped somewhere or risk paying large sums for no good reason.”
Another said:
“I preferred a shorter-term agreement because my husband and I were in between properties. We didn’t want to be tied down and, if we wanted to stay longer, we could always go ‘periodic’ at the end.”
Periodic Contracts
A lot of landlords are happy to let 12 month tenancy agreements to lapse into a periodic contract when the term ends. This means the tenant only has to give the landlord one month’s notice if they need to leave, although the landlord is required to provide two months’ notice if they want the tenant to move out.
“Like landlords, many tenants prefer the flexibility provided by shorter tenancy agreements rather than being locked into long commitments over where they live and who they rent from,” says the Managing Director at The DPS.
