Urban.co.uk Tenant Survey 2016 - download the data here!

02 September 2016 by

The property market is a scary place, and making the leap from renting to buying can feel like an impossible jump for many, leaving over 65% of tenants feeling negative about their property prospects. We have surveyed 1,000 tenants nationwide as part of the Urban.co.uk Tenant Survey 2016, and have discovered that the nation's renters are not positive about getting a foot on the ladder.

• 65% of renters are negative about their buying prospects
• 49% of renters don’t expect to be on the property ladder within five years
• 53% blame the changeable job market for their inability to buy
• 59% say that Buy to Let can’t help them
• 62% will need help from family or an inheritance to buy a property
• 43% say the government should be doing more

"We believe it’s really important that tenants have their voices heard’, said Urban.co.uk co-founder Adam Male. "Until you own a property, either as a homeowner or a landlord you very rarely get a chance to speak your mind, so we wanted to give the nation’s tenants a chance to voice their opinions about the property market."

The tenants certainly didn’t hold back – the research has shown that nearly 50% of tenants expect it to be five years before they are able to buy a property, with 22% not expecting to be able to get on the property ladder at all. This may be down to the rising initial costs of buying, which are biggest barrier for 60% of potential buyers.

With ever rising property prices, 60% of tenants surveyed admitted that they will be reliant on the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ to buy a home. Others are turning to the government for assistance, with 9% hoping to take advantage of the Help-to-Buy scheme.

Government assistance isn’t for everyone though, with 59% of respondents believing that the Help-to-Buy scheme ‘isn’t much use to them’ and a further 43­­­% believing that the government aren’t doing enough to help people get on the ladder.

It wasn’t all bad news though. Despite the turbulent job market, 53% of tenants believe that the lack of stability in the economic world hasn’t has a direct impact on their inability to buy a property, and 42% still hope to buy ‘soon’, despite the odds.

"There is so much data about prices and housing stock, but little about how people actually feel about their position in the market.’’ said Adam. "Understanding people’s property woes and being able to address them is the only way that we will be able to address the underlying issues within the UK’s market."

Download the Urban.co.uk Tenant Survey 2016 here