The happiest tenants in the UK are found in the North East of England, according to a survey, where 52% of those questioned said they were happy with their landlord.
The findings from Intus Lettings reveals that tenants in London are the least satisfied with their landlord and just 20% of renters there claim to be happy.
Among the irritations felt by tenants is the lack of customer service provided by landlords, the time taken in dealing with maintenance issues, as well as the availability of landlords and their inspection visits and also letting agent fees.
Lack of competence and communication with landlords
The survey also highlighted issues with a lack of competence and communication with landlords when they are dealing with repairs.
A spokesman for Intus Lettings said: “We hear about the happiest and best places to live in terms of job satisfaction, well-being and availability of good schools but there's not much research about how happy renters are and which ones are getting the best service from landlords.
“High costs and fees will contribute to renters dissatisfaction in the capital but as the property market in London becomes more saturated and demanding, landlords will be overstretched and less able to respond to their tenant’s needs as well as landlords in the regions which will add to the frustrations.”
Tenants have a lack of rental market knowledge
Meanwhile, a survey of landlords and tenants has revealed that there is a lack of knowledge of the UK's rental market.
This means that the sector’s growing complexity is providing many landlords and their tenants with real challenges.
Indeed, less than half of tenants who responded claimed they had never heard of fake landlord scams despite extensive media coverage last year highlighting the problem.
That's when the Action Fraud organisation reported a 44% year-on-year increase in rental fraud though the Local Government Association says the figures being reported are just 5% of the true numbers of tenants being scammed in this way.
Scams by fake landlords account for £63 million
The government also says that scams by fake landlords account for £63 million being by tenants.
The Residential Landlords’ Association’s chief executive, Andrew Goodacre, said: “While most private sector landlords provide secure and safe homes for tenants around the country, we are aware there is a criminal minority out there.
“The RLA promotes landlord and tenant education to help encourage greater awareness of their responsibilities which will improve standards across the sector.”
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