Dubbed “Generation Rent”, it seems that nowadays more Britons are renting than buying property in the UK with The Joseph Rowntree Foundation predicting recently that 1.5 million extra 18-30 year-olds will be priced out of buying property over the next eight years. With this in mind, it appears that the idea of renting from “cradle to grave” is becoming ever more likely.

According to a study by the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), tenants are staying longer than ever in their rental properties with the average tenancy in the UK now at a record high of 20 months.

Meanwhile many letting agents have seen an adjustment in the type of tenant enquiries they receive. No longer just attracting young, single people, ARLA discovered that around 55% of enquiries now derive from couples or young families. Disturbingly, millions of British families are entering a period in which renting becomes the norm as banks refuse to lend, house prices rise and wages drop with a report commissioned by the Resolution Foundation and Shelter from Cambridge claiming that over the past five years, there has been a massive 86% increase in families with children renting their homes.

However, it’s not just families who are settling for rental accommodation. HomeLet, the UK´s largest supplier of referencing to the lettings industry recently discovered that the percentage of tenants aged between 66 and 70 who have moved into rented accommodation from home ownership has increased by 41% compared to a year ago.

James Davis, CEO of UK lettings specialist Upad comments,

“It seems that more and more people are continuing to rent and could be for some time. For the average Joe, we often start our adult lives living in rented accommodation with the hope of buying our own home later down the line; however the credit crunch and high house prices have forced many potential homebuyers to remain as tenants and this doesn’t look set to change anytime soon.

“The figures really do speak for themselves with 18-30 year olds and families being priced out of the property market, struggling to raise enough for a deposit while older individuals downsize from home ownership into private rental accommodation as pension income and investments fall and reliance on the equity released from selling their homes becomes even greater. We really are renting from cradle to grave.”

It seems as though people’s attitude towards home ownership is shifting as it begins to look more and more like an unattainable aspiration. Data compiled by SpareRoom.co.uk recently showed that 48% of people admitted they would be happy to rent long-term if only there was less pressure in the UK to own a home.

Davis comments,

“For many hopeful property buyers in the UK, the dream of owning a home is looking like it could be exactly that – a dream. Unfortunately, people’s attitudes have had to change as Britons acknowledge renting as a “way of life”.

As one of the UKs largest and fastest growing letting agencies, Upad specialise in helping professional tenants rent properties from landlords directly by allowing landlords to manage their own viewings. Last year alone, 107,000 tenants asked Upad for help finding a home.

Upad’s tenant-finding services start from just £99 + VAT per property with an even cheaper rate for rooms. For more information please contact Upad, on 0333 240 1220 or visit www.upad.co.uk.

Expert UK lettings specialist Upad has named former Marketing Director at Sony Computer Entertainment UK, Alan Duncan as their new head of marketing. Starting this month, Alan will be responsible for the strategic planning and execution of communications at Upad, helping the already highly successful online lettings agency propel its brand further.

Having earned himself a BA Honours degree in English Language & Literature and completing a Masters in marketing at Kingston Business School, Kingston University, Alan has since established an impressive resume of skills and experience in the fields of marketing, communications and product management.

Working with industry leaders at Sony Computer Entertainment UK, Alan, through passion, hard work and determination climbed his way up the ladder from Product Manager to Marketing Director of the company.  

As Marketing Director, a position Alan held for just over 7 years, he was able to achieve some astonishing successes for the company. From project managing the launch and development of the PSP, PlayStation 3 and PS Vita platforms to devising and launching “The Game is Just The Start” brand campaign which saw a 250% increase in PS3 sales, Alan’s proven track record of achieving commercial success through innovative strategies and campaigns speaks for itself.

Alan now embarks on a new and exciting challenge at Upad where he will use his knowledge and expertise to continue the reinvention of the world of lettings.

Alan Duncan comments,

“I am thrilled to be joining the team at Upad. The idea that landlords are better at conducting property viewings than estate agents is essentially what Upad is built on. My job is to extol the virtues of self-service online lettings through strategic planning and innovative thinking. They’re re-writing the rules in this highly competitive and rapidly expanding arena and this represents the perfect challenge for me.”

As one of the UKs largest and fastest growing letting agencies, Upad specialise in helping professional tenants rent properties from landlords directly by allowing landlords to manage their own viewings. Last year alone, 107,000 tenants asked Upad for help finding a home.

Upad’s tenant-finding services start from just £99 + VAT per property with an even cheaper rate for rooms. For more information please contact Upad, on 0333 240 1220 or visit www.upad.co.uk.
 

Finding a place to rent can be hard enough but what if your sex was a deciding factor in whether you get your foot in the door of your potential new pad? According to new survey data from expert online lettings agent Upad, over half of UK landlords care about the gender of their tenants.

Asking 885 landlords in their latest survey, Upad discovered that the sex of a tenant was a genuine concern for 57.4% of respondents with James Davis, CEO of Upad commenting,

“Who’s the better sex – men or women is probably one of the oldest debates in the book. Like it or not, gender can sometimes be a deciding factor in whether a person makes the cut even in the rental arena. In our survey, we really wanted to see if the sex of a prospective tenant actually matters to landlords and from our research it appears that it does.”

When asked “who makes the best tenants?” it seems that gender stereotypes still apply with one respondent explaining:

“Men make better tenants. They can (usually) change light bulbs, they know how the central heating works, and they’re more likely to carry out minor repairs than women. Men are more easy going, they take care of the small things – generally they just want a roof over their heads.”

Meanwhile, speaking in favour of female tenants one respondent commented:

“On average, females are tidier which means less maintenance. Females also seem to like their outside space being picturesque and generally do more in the garden – cutting the lawn and keeping it tidy. Females are also more in control of finances then males, I find I get on time payments from female tenants and they are also more likely to stay put.”

A landlord himself, Davis remarks,

“Based on our findings it seems that the majority of landlords have a gender preference with the typical typecasts of men being good at general maintenance and women being clean and tidy still very much in association. However, what was interesting was the fact that while men and women can be penalised for various different reasons, it seems singletons are in the firing line as well. When we asked landlords “who makes the best tenants?” a number explained that they were more in favour of couples as both parties fulfil certain jobs in the home.”

In relation to this, one respondent in Upad’s results noted:

“Both genders have their pros and cons but ideally I prefer couples as tenants. You often find one is good at keeping things clean and tidy and the other is good at sorting out the little things. Also, couples tend to be the best long-term tenants particularly if they have a child. I just tend to avoid sharers in favour of couples.”

Whatever your preference, landlords seeking the best tenants should look no further than the UK´s market leading online lettings agency, Upad. As one of the UKs largest and fastest growing letting agencies, Upad specialise in helping professional tenants rent properties from landlords directly by allowing landlords to manage their own viewings.  Last year alone, 107,000 tenants asked Upad for help finding a home. 
 

Upad’s  tenant-finding services start from just £99 + VAT per property with an even cheaper rate for rooms. For more information please contact Upad, on 0333 240 1220 or visit www.upad.co.uk.
 

More than £100,000 could be repaid to private tenants who have been charged illegitimate fees by letting agents according to housing charity Shelter Scotland.

In spite of being illegal in Scotland, the housing charity which launched “reclaimyourfees.com” in May this year, a special website designed to help private tenants across the country reclaim charges, revealed that some tenants were made to pay for unlawful services such as duplicate copies of a lease, inventory checks and preparation. As a result, around 870 people have begun proceedings for repayment of their fees.

With concern that some letting agents are ripping tenants off in Scotland with variable fees and significant up-front charges, expert online lettings agent Upad surveyed hundreds of tenants across the UK with a focus on Scotland asking tenants if they felt they were being “ripped off”.

The survey asked tenants across the UK what the most pressing issue was nowadays and discovered that high deposits and getting them returned was one of the biggest factors with a significant proportion of tenants revealing that they were made to pay up to and beyond 12 months deposit.

More specifically, deposit issues were of great concern to Scottish tenants. With this in mind, new schemes have recently been launched which require all Scottish landlords to protect tenants´ deposits. Three government approved schemes – SafeDeposits Scotland, The Letting Protection Service Scotland and MyDeposits Scotland will target those who continue to stain the reputation of the private rented sector and provide a fair, cost effective approach that safeguards tenancy deposits.

As well as deposits, other issues for Scottish tenants included property maintenance and privacy with a number of Scottish respondents highlighted that they would like more concealment away from neighbours. One respondent explained:

“The for rent sign stays up for months on end to let everyone know that you’ve rented out the property – more privacy would be great.”

Meanwhile, an additional concern identified in the survey was the role that lettings agents play. The survey revealed that while 73% of respondents across the UK rented property from a lettings agent, 93% were concerned that they were being charged sky high fees. 79% said that the level of service they received did not reflect the fees they paid with one disheartened respondent explaining that they paid £444.00 for a very slow reference check.

When asked how much they paid to move into their current property excluding rent and deposit, a number of UK based respondents revealed that they paid up to a whopping £5,000 with 78% stating they had to pay an extra fee on top ranging from £100 to £800 while in the deposit stakes some tenants revealed that they had paid up to and beyond 12 months.

James Davis, CEO of online lettings agent Upad comments,

“There is no getting away from the fact that tenants feel ripped off in Scotland – charges are too high and deposits often aren’t returned without issues. There are so many concerns affecting Scottish tenants nowadays it’s hard to put your finger on just one but they’re mostly focused around getting a fair deal.  It’s good to see Shelter’s “Reclaim Your Fees” operation in Scotland has helped and that government schemes are being put in place to ensure that lettings agents across the UK aren’t able to exploit tenants and undermine the work of good letting agencies who do play fair.”

With tenant demand increasing in Scotland, tenants looking for a fair deal should look no further than the UK´s market leading online lettings agency, Upad. As one of the UKs largest and fastest growing letting agencies with a new dedicated service in Scotland Upad specialise in helping professional tenants rent properties from landlords directly by allowing landlords to manage their own viewings.

Last year alone, 107,000 tenants asked Upad for help finding a home. 
 

Upad’s  tenant-finding services start from just £99 + VAT per property with an even cheaper rate for rooms. For more information please contact Upad, on 0333 240 1220 or visit www.upad.co.uk.