84% of the Private Rented Sector (PRS) tenants are happy with their accommodation

The latest English Housing Survey, published by the Government, shows that one in five people in England now live in the private rented sector, a figure that has dramatically increased since the survey’s current format was introduced back in 1996/97.

The report shows that the majority of tenants in the PRS are happy with their current accommodation, with 84% of participants (compared to 81% of the social rented sector) indicating their satisfaction.

Another area in which the PRS has excelled the social rented sector, is in tenant satisfaction with landlord repairs and maintenance. 72% of private tenants noted satisfaction with the way their landlord carries out maintenance and repairs, contrasting with 66% of social renters.

Encouragingly, a decreasing number of private rental properties fall into the over-occupied category, which is now at 5%. But the PRS is still the most likely tenure to fail the Statutory Minimum Housing Standard with at least 15% of private rental properties having at least one Category 1 hazard, although this percentage has halved since 2008.