Top turn-offs for renters when viewing properties

With the private rented sector worth £4.5 million and accounting for 20 per cent of households in the UK, the market is huge and very competitive.

Home research into the biggest peeves about interior design for renters shows that cleanliness and lack of bad smells are top of the must-haves list.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The top five features that would put off renters when viewing a new property were:

An old fashioned kitchen (48 per cent), an old fashioned bathroom (47 per cent, aAn old fashioned bedroom (28 per cent), brightly coloured walls (27 per cent), and bright or patterned carpets (26 per cent).

With an estimated cost of £7,000 for a new kitchen and £3,000 for a new bathroom, refurbishing both rooms may be out of budget, but a few minor upgrades may be more manageable. Choosing a modern colour scheme and updating accessories will help give a room the uplift it may need.

When taking the whole property into consideration, renters said they would be put off by a dirty house the most (49 per cent), with bad smells and evidence of damp coming in second and third (46 per cent and 43 per cent respectively).

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The top five things that put potential tenants off are: The house being dirty (49 per cent), bad smells (46 per cent), damp (43 per cent), unkempt garden (37 per cent), and the property being badly decorated (35 per cent).

Paul McGuiness, owner at Terry’s Fabrics who conducted the research, said: “It is clear that the look and feel of a property can have a big effect on how prospective renters feel.

"Rather than investing in a brand new kitchen or bathroom suite, a quick update of the property’s decor could make all of the difference. Adding more accessories such as soft furnishings and blinds or adding a lick of paint might be the difference between securing a tenant or not."