A staggering 85% of tenants find themselves renting out of necessity due to financial constraints, rather than as a matter of choice according to market research conducted by Monta Capital.

Commissioning a survey of 1,586 renters, Monta Capital sought to discern the reasons behind individuals' decisions to rent and to uncover the nuances of their experiences as tenants.

The findings reveal a substantial portion of respondents who have been renting for extended periods: 24% for six to 10 years, 22% for 10 to 15 years, 13% for up to 20 years, and 20% for more than 20 years.

Notably, the overwhelming majority—85%—cite financial necessity as the driving force behind their decision to rent, with only 15% considering it a lifestyle choice.

Concerns voiced by tenants highlight the challenges they face, with 33% expressing unease over the overall cost of renting and 35% citing the lack of security provided by short tenancy agreements as a significant issue.

In response to these challenges, 41% of renters advocate for longer tenancy agreements as a means to enhance stability and security in their living arrangements.

Thomas Balashev, CEO of Monta Capital, underscores the need for action in addressing these concern:. “If the vast majority of people are renting through necessity, I believe that there is a significant burden and moral obligation to provide them with quality, nourishing homes

“Let’s use an analogy, albeit one that might not be very popular among certain groups: for many kids in this country, their school dinner is the best, if not only opportunity to eat a good, nutritious meal every day.

“Because of this, schools have an obligation to make sure that the food they’re putting on kids’ plates is healthy and nutritious.

“That plate used to be piled high with turkey twizzlers and chips, but now our society has evolved and learned that this is damaging and immoral, so we have changed our ways.”

Balashev added: “The same revolution needs to happen with our housing, an objective which is entirely achievable if only enough developers and public stakeholders were willing to create rented homes with the same level of respect they do for-sale homes.

“Currently, rented homes are not held to the same high standards that for-sale homes are where quality directly impacts value. Instead the only metric in delivering rented homes is the price point.

“We should also be looking seriously at creating longer tenancies in order to give renters the security they desire and deserve.

“To this end, we would love to see government legislation move with the times and push for the provision of longer tenancies.”

“Not only would this benefit tenants, but it would also be a huge boon for property investors.

“For example, when a commercial building is sold with an existing 20-year tenancy agreement in place, its value is higher than if the current tenancy expires in 12 months.

“So, for residential investors, not least in the build-to-rent sector, a building that has tenants signed up for five or seven years provides much more investor security than a building where tenants only sign up for a year at a time.”