The survey, which took place in Q4 2018 asked 2,000 UK renters for their opinion and found that the majority of tenants were looking for access to a garden or balcony, with 46% stating that they were looking for some kind of outdoor space. On-site parking came in at second place with 41.5% of respondents saying that parking was a priority when looking for a rental property. The third most requested feature for a property was modern interiors, with 23% of the 2,000 tenants asked stating that this was important to them.
More luxurious amenities like an onsite gym were less of a priority for the tenants that took part, with only 4.15% of tenants saying that they would prefer a gym in their apartment building.
When asked what factors they would typically consider when looking for a property, 40.8% of the respondents said that affordability was the most important factor they looked for in a property and 24.5% said that location was a priority for them.
When tenants were also asked how long they were likely to stay in a rental property for, the majority had no intentions of staying in their property on a long-term basis, with 29.75% saying that they only stay at their rental property for an average of 19 months to three years. However, 23.50% said that they would stay in their accommodation for five years or more.
In regard to the value for money, 59.30% were satisfied that the property they were renting was good value for money.
Andy Phillips, commercial director at Knight Knox, said: “These results give us an excellent insight and confirm what we already believed to be true. It’s clear that tenants put a great emphasis on having the essentials like outdoor space and a good location, whereas features like a gym are regarded as more of a luxury than a necessity. These findings are definitely worth considering when looking at a buy to let investment.”