Half of all tenants who moved during the past 12 months found it ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’ to secure a new rental property, according to a survey from The Deposit Protection Service (DPS).
Research found that the proportion of respondents who moved during the previous year and had encountered difficulties increased by 8%, from 42% to 50%, between March 2023 and March 2024.
Just 9% of respondents had moved property during the past six months, compared with 24% who moved between March and August 2023.
Overall, 68% of respondents said they had not moved during the past year, according to the organisation.
While more than three quarters (76%) of non-movers said they were happy with their decision, 24% would have liked to have moved but did not.
Of those, more than a fifth (21%) said they were paying more than they could afford for their present rental properties.
Matt Trevett, managing director at The DPS, said: “Finding a new rental property is getting tougher for a growing number of tenants, especially for younger, non-student renters and those who are not in employment, due to a combination of fewer rental properties on the market, the current cost of living, as well as increased mortgage costs for landlords.
“At the same time the proportion of tenant respondents moving home has more than halved during the past 12 months leading to some tenants stuck in properties that they are financially struggling to afford.
“We would encourage tenants to engage in open and constructive dialogue with their current and future landlords about their circumstances throughout their tenancies, to give both parties the best chance of avoiding a dispute at the end.”
Overall, 52% of tenants aged 18 to 25, and 50% of those aged 26 to 35, found it ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’ to secure a new property, compared with 37% of tenants aged 66 and above.
Of the 5% of moving respondents who took part in the survey in March 2024 who did not have a job, 54% found moving either ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’, compared with 39% of students.
The proportion of student movers stood at 70%, according to the survey.
The research showed no significant gender differences between moving renters when it came to difficulties experienced.
Almost a third (32%) of respondents overall had moved to a new rental property during the past year; a fifth (20%) of respondents had moved between September 2022 and March 2023.
