Tenants spending their own money on improvements as they have more time at home

New research reveals over a third (34%) of renters have spent money doing up their landlords’ properties, with almost one in seven (14%) of them having spent over £1,000 each. This is driven mainly by increased time spent at home and difficulty getting on the property ladder

Decorating (49%) and buying furniture (48%) are the two most popular home improvements. 13% of those who haven’t yet spent money on their rented home (and don’t plan to) said they would if their landlord offered them a longer-term tenancy

With renters spending more time at home, and rising house prices pushing the property ladder further and further away, new research today from flatshare site SpareRoom reveals a third of renters (34%) are spending their own money-making their landlords’ houses feel like their homes. What’s more,14% of these have spent over £1,000 to put their stamp on a house that doesn’t belong to them.

The research demonstrates how tenants’ willingness to splash their cash on other people’s properties began and grew throughout the pandemic, with 79% of those who spent money on their rental property only doing so since 2020. For over half of respondents who have spent money doing up their place, a major motivation to do this was down to spending more time at home (51%).

Another major influence driving tenants’ desire to ‘fix up’ rented properties is the ongoing difficulty of getting on the property ladder. One in five (19%) chose to make their rental feel more like their own home simply because they can’t afford to buy a house.

What renters have been spending their money on:

–       Decorating (49%)

–       Furniture (48%)

–       Soft furnishings (e.g., cushions, curtains and throws) (8%)

–       Homeware accessories (e.g., vases, mirrors, wall art) (3%)

–       New appliances (3%)

–       New fixtures and fittings (e.g., new doorknobs, cupboards, light fittings, etc.) (2%)

–       Other (2%)

–       Houseplants (1%)

–       External alterations (e.g., garden landscaping, garden planting, balcony painting) (1%)

Matt Hutchinson, SpareRoom director comments: “It’s not surprising that people want to make their rented properties feel like home, given how much time they’ve spent at home over the last two years.

“As people rent for longer, we may well see more and more tenants wanting to have a say in how their properties look. What’s interesting is that more people would be tempted to spend money doing up their rental property if they were offered a longer-term tenancy. In some European countries tenants can decorate their rentals however they like, but shorter tenancies in the UK mean people have traditionally been more reluctant to spend on a property they may need to move from in a year’s time.”

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