Official Statistics
Private landlords survey 2010
The Private Landlord Survey is a national survey commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government of landlords and managing…
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The Private Landlord Survey is a national survey commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government of landlords and managing agents who own and/or manage privately rented properties in England.
The key findings of these statistics are:
- Eighty-nine per cent of landlords were private individual landlords responsible for 71 per cent of all private rented dwellings, with a further 5 per cent of landlords being company landlords responsible for 15 per cent of dwellings.
- More than three quarters (78 per cent) of all landlords only owned a single dwelling for rent, with only 8 per cent of landlords stating they were full time landlords.
- The majority (54 per cent) of dwellings met the Decent Homes Standard though this rose to nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) for those let by new landlords. Over two-fifths (42 per cent) of all dwellings have had an Energy Performance Certificate.
- Fifty-one per cent of all dwellings were acquired since 2000, 25 per cent in the ten years between 1990 and 1999.
- In terms of formal letting and management practices, nearly all landlords and agents (97 per cent) made use of a written tenancy agreement, with 91 per cent requiring a deposit, and 84% requiring tenants to provide a reference.
- Almost half (47 per cent) of all landlords were happy to rent to tenants on Housing Benefit (HB) or the Local Housing Allowance (LHA), with a further 21 per cent saying they would be encouraged to do so if payments were not made direct to the tenant.
- In terms of issues considered a serious problem, 18 per cent of landlords or agents stated issues related to HB or the LHA, and 10 per cent the level of HB in the area. Issues not considered a problem by landlords were low demand (82 per cent), mortgage payments (76 per cent) and finding reliable builders (73 per cent).
- A third (33 per cent) of landlords and agents, who had heard of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System reported that 58 per cent of the dwellings they were collectively responsible for had received some form of assessment for potential hazards.