Tenants are renting for longer than planned

Landlords are facing a tenant base that is staying put for longer, with new research showing many renters have remained in the sector far beyond their original plans.

LRG’s Spring 2026 Lettings Report, based on responses from 650 landlords and tenants, found that 60% of tenants in England and Wales are renting for longer than they expected.

Some 40% said they had been in the PRS for much longer than they had planned, while another 20% said it had been ‘somewhat longer’.

Just 1% of those surveyed have since bought a home.

Renting is the norm

Allison Thompson, the chief lettings officer at Leaders, which is part of LRG, said: “Renting for longer is no longer the exception – for a growing number of people it has quietly become the norm.

“What the data tells us is that most tenants have not chosen this; they have accepted it.

“And acceptance is not the same as satisfaction.”

She added: “The 32% who say they feel stuck and frustrated are a reminder that long-term renting works well when the home, the landlord and the price are right – and when tenants feel secure.”

Questions on periodic tenancies

Landlords appear divided, though not generally opposed, on whether the move to assured periodic tenancies will alter their approach to longer stays.

The survey found 42% of landlords said the change would make no difference to how willing they are to encourage tenants to remain long-term.

Another 15% said they would be more willing.

A further 15% said they would be less willing, while 29% were not yet sure.

Why tenants rent longer

The report points to rising house prices, stretched affordability and tighter mortgage access as reasons why tenants are remaining in rented homes rather than moving into ownership.

The length of time tenants spend in their current home also shows how settled many households have become.

The largest group (35%) have lived in their present property for one to two years.

However, 59% have been there for three years or more, including 23% who have stayed for more than a decade.

Only 5% said they had been in their current home for less than a year.

Tenant behaviour changing

The figures come as the Renters’ Rights Act moves the sector towards assured periodic tenancies which gives tenants the right to remain indefinitely.

For landlords, the data suggests the law is meeting a change already taking place in tenant behaviour, rather than creating it from scratch.

Among tenants who have rented longer than intended, 40% said they had accepted the position but still hoped to buy one day.

Another 23% said they had made peace with renting and that it now suited them.

However, 32% said they felt stuck and frustrated and only 4% said they had actively chosen to keep renting.