Data reveals that women have a better relationship with their landlord
New research reveals that an impressive 75 percent of tenants describe relationships with their landlords as “good” or “very good”, while 89 percent of landlords feel the same way.
So what’s got tenants and landlords all googly-eyed with each other, especially when the stereotype is often one of two parties reading from different pages? It turns out that, just like romantic relationships, it’s all about communication.
Research commissioned by letting agent alternative Mashroom shows that 59 percent of tenants cited strong communication as the reason for their landlord love-in. Sixty-seven percent of landlords also said that being communicative was the reason for their good relationship with tenants.
The numbers at a glance
59% of tenants cite communication for their strong relationships with landlords
67% of landlords believe communication is essential
59% of tenants deal with their landlord directly
53% of landlords manage their properties
56% of tenants stay in their home for up to five years
Was it the middleman all along stopping true love from blossoming between landlords and tenants? Letting agents and property managers are often seen as the go-between to get deals done and take care of property maintenance, but it looks like their involvement is a hindrance rather than a help.
Out of the tenants and landlords surveyed, 59 percent of renters said they deal with their landlord directly, rather than going through a letting agent or property management company. Of landlords, 53 percent said they let and manage their rented properties without external help.
That direct communication is leading to tenants and landlords staying together for longer, too. Thirty-three percent of tenants said they live in their rented homes for between two and five years, with 23 percent staying for more than half a decade.
The landlords surveyed also enjoyed long-term relationships – 30 percent have had the same tenants for between two and five years.
The research carried out by Censuswide has debunked the myths of disgruntled tenants and impatient landlords. And it’s spreading the love with a brand new campaign just in time for Valentine’s Day.
The short ads take a tongue-in-cheek approach to what can go wrong when there’s a lack of communication between tenants and landlords, painting the picture of unhappy couples taking a leaf out of the romantic relationship playbook and finding themselves in counselling sessions to fix their personal issues.
And it is a lack of communication that plays a role in landlords and tenants failing to get on, with 75 percent of unhappy renters saying more communication was needed. Slow repairs came in as the second biggest problem to cause a tiff between tenants and landlords with 50 percent saying it was enough to ruin the relationship completely.
Stepan Dobrovolskiy, CEO of Mashroom, said: “Tenants and landlords often see each other as enemies, but a lack of communication is usually the reason why relationships break down. This could be because a letting agent or property manager is acting as the go-between but isn’t relaying the information correctly. When landlords and tenants communicate directly, however, the results are better – whether it’s arranging repairs or paying the rent on time. From what we’ve seen, by having strong lines of communication, both landlords and tenants have more respect for each other. This builds healthier relationships that create a better renting environment for everyone involved.