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0:01 AM, 22nd November 2023, About 6 months ago 14
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More than half of tenants in England would like to have their utilities included in their rent, but just 12% of rental properties on the market offer this convenience, a survey reveals.
Zero Deposit, a tenancy deposit alternative company, asked more than 2,400 tenants about their preferences and stress levels regarding bills when renting.
The survey found that 41% of tenants find it stressful to organise and pay their utility bills, such as gas, electricity, water, broadband and TV licence.
The main source of stress is the affordability of utilities, especially as the cost of running a home is expected to rise next year.
Zero Deposit’s chief executive, Sam Reynolds, said: “Tenants across the nation are struggling with rental affordability at present and this struggle isn’t refined to asking rents and rental deposits alone.
“Once they have managed to secure a rental home of their own, they are facing a sharp increase in the monthly cost of their utilities as well.
“But it’s not just the cost that can be a daunting prospect, understanding their utility bills and juggling their finances to ensure they are paying the right people at the right time is also a factor.
“Not to mention the rigmarole involved when it comes to the start and end of a tenancy.”
He added: “So, it’s hardly surprising that so many would prefer to have their utility bills included within the cost of renting.
“Many tenants feel like they’ve lost control of their monthly outgoings; it’s understandable that a large proportion would even opt for such a property over one that doesn’t offer this added convenience.”
Other factors that cause anxiety for tenants are having enough money in the right accounts at the right time, understanding new bills and why they had changed and organising each bill at the start and end of a tenancy.
As a result, 55% of tenants said they would prefer to have their utility bills included in the price of their rent.
And 44% said they would be more likely to rent a property if bills were included versus a property that didn’t.
However, finding a bills included rental property is not easy for tenants.
An analyses of the current rental stock listed on Zoopla found that only 12% of the properties in England had the option of having the bills included within the asking rent.
The availability of bills included rented homes varies across the regions with tenants in the South East having the lowest chance of finding one, as only 9% of the properties here have this option.
London is also among the areas with the lowest availability, with just 10% of the properties offering bills included.
However, tenants in the East Midlands have the highest chance of finding a bills included rental property, as 22% of the properties in the region have this option.
The West Midlands (17%) and North West (16%) are also among the regions with the highest availability of bills included rentals.
Landlord
18:18 PM, 23rd November 2023, About 6 months ago
Would they like their food bills included as well? How about coke and hookers every month as a gesture of goodwill to keep their stress down? It sounds perfectly reasonable.
LL Minion
18:49 PM, 23rd November 2023, About 6 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Landlord at 23/11/2023 - 18:18
hahaha! love it.
CP
10:36 AM, 25th November 2023, About 6 months ago
I am sure they would, as it would encourage careless waste on their part on energy. Just human nature.
Frank Jennings
9:42 AM, 26th November 2023, About 6 months ago
Well you can't say we didn't warn you! Today on the BBC a tennants rights spokesman is now calling for the ""confiscation of all properties that to not conform to the descent homes standard". Well I can see a lot of MP's liking this idea, can't you? Let's see if that's the new push. Of course it won't apply to council housing which is already owned by the council. I mean the council arn't going to fine themselves, or confiscate their many run down slums are they?
And so, slice by slice they will take it all, until there are none left. What will the tennants do then, I wonder?
Fight over cardboard boxes?
They really don't understand supply and demand. As the demand goes up and the supply goes down, the prices go up and up. If you try to stop this by capping the rents, all you will do is cause more of an exodus of landlords, that will sell up as it's simply not worthwhile anymore. It's simply not profitable anymore, and not worth the risks and the efforts involved, to supply rental housing.
So what is the solution? I suggest that people on housing benefits have it increased so they can afford to live in a decent house or flat. I suggest the council fix all their slum housing stock, and build many more decent houses or flats for people on benefits. I suggest they stop illegal immigrants coming into this county. I suggest that the council fix all the slum houses and bring them up to spec. and then charge the landlord a small monthly charge to pay for this over many years, so it is affordable over the long term.
There are solutions to these problems, we just need to think about it a little.
Fat chance with this uniparty govenment though.