Contrary to a number of trends identified by lettings organisations and surveys of tenants, an insurance firm is claiming that longer-term tenancies are now less popular than they have been in the recent past.

In the latest of a series of six-monthly surveys conducted by Cover4LetProperty, the findings suggest that:

– 48 per cent of renters have lived in two or three rented properties in the last five years (up from 35 per cent just six months ago);

– 47 per cent of renters have stayed for five or more years in the same property (down from 59 per cent six months ago);

– just five per cent have lived in four or more properties in the last five years;

– 26 per cent plan to buy their own home within the next six months (up 11 per cent in the last six months) while 35 per cent hope to buy in a few years’ time;

When asked what made them leave a rented property, some 23 per cent cited rent rises while 12 per cent blamed problems with their landlords.