AXA Survey of Tenants in Great Britain

Transcription

1 AXA Survey of Tenants in Great Britain

2 AXA Survey of Tenants in Great Britain July 2016 AXA is one of the leading insurers of the private rental market in Great Britain. The company conducts an annual survey of tenants in order to inform both them and their landlords of trends and issues of concern. All tenants who took part in this survey rent their properties directly from a private landlord. AXA Surveyed 1,000 tenants renting from private landlords in Great Britain in July % 6% 11% % AGE 37% % Male Female 31% GENDER 69% Page 1

3 House (part) 2% 11% House (whole ) Flat (part) 29% Flat (whole ) TYPE Other 6% 52% Single 7% 6% 5% 3% Living Situation 20% Couple (no children) Couple with children Lone parent Sharing with friends Sharing with strangers 30% 29% Other 18% 2% Professional Manual worke r Skilled worker 7% Occupation 38% Self-employe d Retired Not working 9% Other 30% 13% Page 2

4 Primary reasons to rent 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Prefer freedom Can t get a mortgage Relationshi p end/star t Relocatin g for career Other Less than a year How long tennants plan to rent Average: 9.43 years 2-3yrs 4-5yrs 5-10yrs 10-20yrs 20-30yrs 30yrs + Page 3

5 80 Tenants expectations of buying a house (change over three years) Want to buy (but say they have no prospect of getting a mortgage) Want to buy and are saving for a mortgage Don t want to buy Regional summaries London A quarter of people living in London now rent from private landlords, the highest number in the UK, and rising rapidly. Altogether, there are 3.3 million households in London: 25 per cent (817,000) are privately rented, 24 per cent are socially rented (784,000) and 51 per cent are privately owned or living rent free (1.7 million) *. London tenants expect to buy in the shortest time: 6.7 years (compared to the national average of 9.5 years). When they do buy, most will buy outside of London. Seventy two per cent of London tenants will migrate out of the capital in the next five years (15 per cent of them will go overseas!). London thus tops AXA s list of stepping stone towns. Page 4

6 With incomes starting to rise, more London tenants are now able to save towards a deposit: 31 per cent are now saving, compared to just 21 per cent in Fewer tenants in the capital feel that they are in a rental trap. In 2013, most (58 per cent) said they could see no prospect of getting a mortgage (and did want to buy). This year, 39 per cent said the same. 88 per cent of London s tenants say they will shop around for a new property in the city in the next year. Top motivations are: reducing a high rent, increasing floor space and acquiring a garden. South East Private rentals have overtaken social rentals to become the second biggest source of housing in the South East. Eighteen per cent of households are now privately rented (compared to 13 per cent that are socially rented)*. Tenants here expect to buy in 10 years time on average. The number saying they are trapped into renting is high, but falling: 53 per cent say they want to buy but see no prospect of a mortgage (down from 65 per cent in 2013). With incomes starting to rise, the number of tenants saving for a deposit has tripled in recent years in this region to 20 per cent this year. Brighton and Oxford are among Britain s top stepping stone towns two thirds of tenants plan to migrate to other parts of the country in the next five years, as both locations see house prices and rents rise faster than in London. South West Seventeen per cent of households in the South West are privately rented (up from Page 5

7 13 per cent in 2008), outstripping social housing which accounts for 13 per cent*. The region s tenants are most pessimistic about their prospects of buying: they expect to rent for an average of 12 years (compared to a national average of 9.5 years). They are most likely to be renting reluctantly; that is, wanting to buy but seeing no prospect of getting on the housing ladder. Fifty five per cent of tenants fit this category (high, but a considerable fall from 70 per cent in 2013). In line with national trends, there has been a modest rise in the number who are able to put money aside for a deposit: 20 per cent this year, compared to 15 per cent three years ago. Bristol is Britain s second stepping stone town just three in ten tenants expect to stay in the city for five years or more. East Anglia Fifteen per cent of households in the region are now privately rented, slightly up from 12 per cent in 2008*. An equal number of tenants live in social housing in the East of England. Tenants in this region expect to rent for an average of 12 years (compared to a national average of 9.5 years). Half say they want to buy but can t see a way onto the housing ladder (down from 63 per cent in 2013). Twenty one per cent of tenants here are saving for a deposit, up from 14 per cent three years ago. East Anglia tenants are the most loyal to their current landlords compared to other regions of the UK. The region s tenants also tend to rate their properties higher for state of repair, style and décor than tenants in other parts of the country. The East of England is where tenants are most likely to plan a long-term Page 6

8 future almost two thirds of those renting in Norwich will still be there in five years time. East Midlands Fifteen per cent of the region s households are now privately rented, equalling the numbers in social housing. The private rental sector continues to expand steadily, up from just 11 per cent of households in 2008*. Half of tenants in the Midlands expect to migrate out of the region in the next five years, and a further seven per cent plan to move abroad. They expect to rent for an average of ten years. The Midlands have seen the highest surge of financial confidence among tenants: just one in ten were saving for a deposit three years ago, that is now 31 per cent. Forty per cent now say they want to buy but don t see any way of getting a mortgage (down from 61 per cent in 2013). Most East Midlands will shop around for a new tenancy within the next year. The top motivation is finding their current rental too expensive, followed by problems with their housemates or neighbours. West Midlands The West Midlands has the lowest level of private rentals in England, making up fourteen per cent of the region s housing stock. Nineteen per cent of households remain socially rented, a figure that has remained unchanged since 2008*. Tenants here expect to rent for a decade (on average). During the next five years, Page 7

9 half will move to another region of the UK, and eight per cent will go abroad. The region bucks the national trend: financial confidence among tenants is barely changed since This year, fifty four per cent said they wanted to buy but wouldn t be able to (barely up from 50 per cent in 2013). Tenants here are among the most loyal to their region though: 61 per cent of those renting in Wolverhampton plan a long-term future there. But most tenants eight in ten will shop around for a new rental in the city in the coming year: looking first and foremost for a bigger property, better neighbours and then a lower price. North West Fifteen per cent of the region s housing is now provided by private landlords (up from 11 per cent in 2008). Social housing is still the most common type of rental however, accounting for 19 per cent of households*. In line with the national trend, North West tenants expect to rent for an average of ten years. Half will leave the region during the next five years, and seven per cent emigrate. Financial confidence is growing: a quarter of tenants here are now saving for a deposit (up from 17 per cent three years ago). They have seen the biggest jump in optimism about buying a property: thirty six per cent say they want to buy but have no prospect of doing so (down from 59 per cent in 2013 and almost ten percentage points lower than the national average). Most North West tenants will shop around for a new rental within the next year: just two in ten say they aren t interested in looking. Price and lack of space are the biggest triggers for tenants to switch properties in this region. Page 8

10 North East Fifteen per cent of households in the North East are now rented from a private landlord, and while this figure is rising steadily year-on-year, most tenants in the region are still in social housing (23 per cent)*. The region has one of the most settled tenant populations in the UK: just 38 per cent plan to move out of the region in the next five years. When people do move away, they are more inclined to go abroad nine per cent of North east tenants say they ll emigrate. North East tenants expect to rent for an average of eight years (slightly lower than the national average). Forty five per cent want to buy but say their prospects of doing so are low (down from 56 per cent in 2013). The region has the lowest number of tenants saving for a deposit (just seven per cent, far below the national average of 24 per cent). Yorkshire and Humberside Sixteen per cent of households in Yorkshire and the Humber region are now rented from a private landlord slightly below the 18 per cent who live in social housing*. Yorkshire tenants are more likely to choose to rent for the freedom it offers: a quarter of tenants name this as their primary reason. Thirty seven per cent rent reluctantly, wanting to buy but locked out of the market, down from 61 per cent in Almost a third say they are now saving for a deposit, double the number three years ago and the highest in the country. Page 9

11 In line with the national trend, tenants in this region plan to rent for an average of nine years. York is one of Britain s long-stay cities for tenants 56 per cent of those currently renting plan a long-term future there. Scotland Fifteen per cent of Scotland s 2.4 million households are now privately rented. In 2000, private landlords provided just 6.7 per cent of Scottish homes, that figure has grown steadily to reach 15%, or 375,000 households, today.** Tenants in Scotland expect to rent for ten years on average. They do tend to be happier with the prospect of renting: 83 per cent say they are happy with the status quo, just 17 per cent say they are unhappy with renting long term. One in five, meanwhile, say they rent primarily through choice. A third now say they want to buy but see no prospect of getting on the housing ladder (down from 54 per cent in 2013). A further seventeen per cent say they want to buy and are saving for a deposit. Half of Scottish tenants plan to migrate to another part of the country in the next five years, and a further eight per cent say they will emigrate. Edinburgh comes third in the list of Britain s stepping stone towns 66 per cent of the city s tenants will leave in the next five years. Wales Fifteen per cent (or 208,000) of Welsh households are now privately rented. Private rentals have almost doubled in the past decade (from seven per cent in 2000)***. Financial confidence has risen sharply among Welsh tenants in recent years: forty one per cent of tenants in Wales want to buy but say the prospect is remote, compared to 69 per Page 10

12 cent in Wales has also seen the biggest increase in tenants saving for a mortgage 26 per cent today, compared to just seven per cent three years ago. Sixty per cent of Welsh tenants plan to migrate out of their present town in the next five years: six per cent will go overseas. Overall, they expect to rent for just seven years, the shortest time outside of London. They are among the most dissatisfied with their current rental: eighty five per cent of tenants say they will shop around for a new property within the next year. Price is the top reason to move on, followed by damp problems which affect Welsh tenants more than any other region. External references *Housing Tenure of Households, Annual Population Survey, **Housing Statistics for Scotland, Scottish Government, September ***Dwelling Stock Estimates, Welsh Government, August Page 11

13 Enquiries Amy Needham, PR & Communications, Notes to Editors *AXA surveyed 1,000 tenants in Great Britain in July 2016, and conducts a quarterly survey of landlords (sample size: 300). About AXA Business Insurance AXA Business Insurance is part of AXA Insurance UK plc, which belongs to the AXA group of companies. With us, you choose the business insurance that s right for you. We offer public liability, employers liability and professional indemnity insurance online to start ups, sole traders, self-employed people and small businesses. In addition we offer van insurance and landlord insurance. AXA Business Insurance also runs Business Guardian Angel which provides resources to help protect and grow small businesses. You can follow AXA Business Insurance on for business insurance help, and find AXA Business Insurance on Google+ and Facebook and you can watch expert guides and business case studies on the AXA Business Insurance YouTube channel. About AXA The AXA Group is a worldwide leader in insurance and asset management, with 166,000 employees serving 103 million clients in 64 countries. In 2015, IFRS revenues amounted to Euro 99.0 billion and IFRS underlying earnings to Euro 5.6 billion. AXA had Euro 1,363 billion assets under management as of December 31, In 2015 Interbrand ranked AXA the 1st insurance brand worldwide for the 7th consecutive year. In the UK AXA operates through a number of business units including: AXA Wealth, AXA Insurance, AXA PPP healthcare, AXA Ireland and an independent distribution business Bluefin. AXA employs over 10,500 staff in the UK. The AXA ordinary share is listed on compartment A of Euronext Paris under the ticker symbol CS (ISN FR Bloomberg: CS FP Reuters: AXAF.PA). AXA s American Depository Share is also quoted on the OTC QX platform under the ticker symbol AXAHY. The AXA Group is included in the main international SRI indexes, such as Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and FTSE4GOOD. It is a founding member of the UN Environment Programme s Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) Principles for Sustainable Insurance and a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment. Page 12