A new survey released this morning gives an insight into how tenants manage rental payments and their willingness – in some circumstances – to pay more for their accommodation.
The survey was of 1,000 tenants aged 18 to 65 and was undertaken for Vaboo, a PropTech platform that gives agents, landlords and others the opportunity to pitch money-saving offers specifically to renters.
Some 74 per cent said they would be happy to pay higher rent if this meant they had access to discounts or offers that reduce the cost of necessities such as household bills, groceries and transport – the three areas of expenditure that individual renters wanted most to economise on.
Those aged between 35 and 44 were the most concerned age group and most interested in saving on grocery bills. The south west had the highest proportion of tenants concerned by the rising cost of living, while tenants in London were the most interested in saving on transport costs.
However – providing fuel to sceptics who accuse some tenants of doing too little to save for a home to buy – the survey found that only 36 per cent of renters were looking for ways to reduce spending when it comes to holidays; that fell to 26 per cent willing to economise on health and fitness activities.
Some 53 per cent of tenants in the North East of England said they would be happy to pay higher rent for access to a cinema, while 24 per cent of Londoners would pay more if they had access to greater communal space.
Alongside today’s survey, Vaboo has also launched The Renter Sentiment Map, a tool which maps the opinions of 3,000 renters regarding affordability concerns.
“The rising cost of living has long been an area of concern – and rightly so. Rent prices show no signs of decreasing, so renters are looking for ways to save money in all other areas of their lives” says Jonathan Stein, chief executive of Vaboo.
