Continental-style renting 'good news for landlords'

Long-term renting is now recognised as a perfectly acceptable alternative to buying a home – and British tenants are now thinking like continentals, an expert has said.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has predicted that 1.5m additional 18 to 30-year-olds are likely to be priced out of the sales market in the next eight years.

Dorian Gonsalves, chief executive of national lettings chain Belvoir, said: “A depressed residential property sales market, lack of mortgage facilities for first-time buyers and an inability to save for high deposits are all factors that are forcing a generation of Brits on to the long term rental market.

“We have 150 offices nationwide and many of our offices are already reporting a trend for tenants to remain in rental properties for much longer than was previously seen.

“As a result of this, new tenants in some parts of the country are struggling to find good-quality accommodation.

“Long-term tenants are good news for landlords, who do not have to incur costs to re-let a property, and if the tenant is a good one, who pays their rent on time and looks after a property really well because they view it as a family home rather than transient accommodation, they are very valuable to the landlord.

“Long-term renting is now being recognised as a viable alternative to home ownership, which was probably not the case for previous generations in the UK, although was certainly the case throughout Europe.”