Home » Uncategorised »
27% of tenants felt rushed into signing tenancy agreement
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Concerning new research has revealed that 27% of tenants feel they were rushed into signing their tenancy agreement.
The investigation from Ocean Finance shows that many renters felt the pressure of competition in the market made them sign an agreement on the day they viewed the property.
Rushing renters
One in ten renters said that their time taken between viewing and entering an agreement was between 2-3 days. A further ten percent said they signed a contract 4-7 days after viewings.
18-24 year olds were found to be the age group acting with most haste, with 46% saying they rushed into signing a deal. In contrast, just 17% of those aged over 55 felt pressured to move quickly to secure their tenancy.
Unsurprisingly, tenants in the capital felt under more pressure to sign quickly, with 40% stating that this was the case in their experience. Renters in Northern Ireland felt under similar pressure, but just 12% of tenants in Wales felt obliged to rush.
27% of tenants felt rushed into signing tenancy agreement
Regrets
Of those tenants who felt pressured to sign their tenancy agreement, half wished that they hadn’t.
The top reasons for regretting signing were:
| Reason for regret | % of rushed tenants who gave reason |
| Property is too cold | 10% |
| Property is too small | 9% |
| Property needs too much work doing to it | 9% |
| Dislike of surrounding area | 8% |
| Not enough outdoor area | 6% |
| Property lacks character | 4% |
| Property is too old-fashioned | 4% |
| Property is too far away from amenities | 2% |
Ian Williams, spokesman for Ocean Finance, said, ‘our figures demonstrate just how hard it is to rent a property across much of the UK. The best properties are often snapped up within hours or even minutes. As a result, would-be tenants feel under pressure to sign quickly to secure the property. Sadly, half of those go on to regret their haste, finding themselves in a home that they don’t like or which doesn’t suit them.’[1]
[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/1-in-4-tenants-say-they-rushed-into-their-tenancy-agreement.html
