The private rented sector is changing. Perhaps one of the clearest signs of that change is how long tenants are now staying put.
According to the latest English Housing Survey, the average private renter has been in their current home for 4.7 years. A decade or so ago, that figure was around 3.5 years.
At the same time, new research from the TDS Charitable Foundation has found something of a contradiction in how tenants see their futures. 44% believe they will be lifetime tenants, renting their home for the rest of their lives (note: not the home they are in, necessarily – but always renting, never owning). At the same time, however, 75% of tenants still also report a desire to own their own home.
There is a disconnect between what renters wish for and what they expect, and that tells us something important.
For a growing proportion of tenants, renting is no longer simply a short stop between leaving home and buying somewhere of their own. It is becoming a much longer stage of life – and for some, perhaps a permanent one.
But the desire for something that feels like theirs, for many tenants, remains.
For landlords and letting agents alike, this should shape how we think about tenancies.
A rented home is still a home
There can be a temptation to think of rental properties in a different way to owner-occupied homes.
But when someone might live in a property for five, seven, even ten years or more, the standard we shoot for as an industry should be higher than simply functional.
Tenants are building their lives in these properties. They are making memories, building relationships with neighbours and becoming part of their communities. They may change jobs, get married, have children and watch those children start school while living at the same address.
It means that comfort and quality matter.
Maintenance matters. Indeed, the outside of the property matters just as much as the inside. Kitchens, bathrooms and flooring that will withstand years of normal family life matter – but again, beyond functionality; the aesthetic matters too.
And where a property is furnished, investing in furniture that is comfortable, attractive and robust often makes far more sense than repeatedly buying the cheapest possible replacements.
Of course, there is a commercial argument behind all of this as well as a moral one.
A tenant who is happy in their home has less reason to leave. Longer tenancies mean fewer void periods, lower remarketing costs and less disruption, whilst landlords benefit from greater clarity about their future income.
Look after the property and, more critically still, look after the people living in it, and there is a far greater likelihood they will look after your investment in return.
Should landlords think differently about ‘where’ and ‘what’?
There is another consequence of longer-term renting which property investors may start to consider.
The average tenant in Edgware is 34 years old.
If the typical tenancy is approaching five years, someone taking a property today could quite easily still be renting as they move through their 30s, into their 40s and even beyond.
That presents an interesting question for investors.
For many years, the obvious buy-to-let investment might have been a flat or smaller type of terraced house, appealing to young professionals. There will, of course, continue to be strong demand for those properties, and especially in a place like Edgware, so I wouldn’t advocate abandoning that market by any means.
But professional landlords, especially, should perhaps broaden the conversation and diversify the portfolio.
If once 20-something renters have become 30-something renters and soon perhaps 40-something renters, and – as often happens – those renters find a partner, settle down, start families, and, indeed, remain longer in any given property, then larger homes in good, family-oriented residential neighbourhoods may become increasingly attractive rental investments.
Schools begin to matter more, as do parks, leisure centres, play facilities, sports clubs and access to the things families use every week.
A tenant with children settled into a good school, friends nearby and a comfortable home has far more reason to remain in that property than somebody who always regarded their accommodation as somewhere temporary. But it’s more than only that. When a house feels like home, the disconnect we see where people rent long-term but wish they owned their own home starts to narrow.
That can produce exactly the sort of stable, long-term tenancy many landlords want – as well as the lives that many tenants want.
Edgware rents tell their own story
There has also been a notable difference in rental growth between houses and flats locally.
The average rent for a house in Edgware has risen by around 46.9% over the past five years and now stands at £2,445 per month. Flats have also increased significantly, but by a lower percentage: 37.6%, reaching an average of £1,573 per month.
Importantly, these figures, provided to us by Dataloft, are calculated on a square-footage basis.
That gives us a more meaningful picture of how values have changed over time, because simply looking at an average of properties rented in any particular period can be misleading.
How so? Let’s say we see a month where only houses are let out, but no flats, for example; the headline monthly rental average will move, even if the underlying rental values of both houses and flats remain the same.
Comparing like-for-like floor space gives us a much clearer indication of the direction of travel.
And these figures do suggest that larger rental homes deserve serious consideration as part of a wider investment strategy. If tenants are getting older, and their preference is to remain in their homes for longer, then landlords might be wise to diversify their portfolio to take advantage of the new shape that our local lettings market is taking.
The Renters’ Rights Act changes the relationship again
All this is happening alongside perhaps the biggest change to the private rented sector in a generation.
Since 1 May 2026, assured tenancies in England have moved onto the new periodic system introduced under the Renters’ Rights Act. Section 21 has gone and landlords seeking possession now need to use one of the prescribed grounds. Tenants also have greater rights around matters including pets and the way their tenancy operates.
In short, tenants have greater security in the homes they rent.
For some landlords, more scrutiny and tighter regulation have felt like another reason to question whether remaining in the sector is worthwhile.
But others have chosen to look at it another way.
As renting becomes more secure, people can begin to treat their rented property even more like a long-term home. They may still aspire to homeownership – and current research still clearly suggests that most do – but they are less likely to feel a need to escape renting simply to gain some sense of stability.
It can make good, well-managed and well-maintained rental property more valuable, not less.
One landlord’s pain point is another landlord’s opportunity
We are already seeing a changing profile within the landlord community.
Some smaller, accidental or heavily leveraged landlords are deciding that increased regulation and higher costs mean the sector is no longer for them.
At the same time, more commercially minded professional landlords and corporate investors continue to see opportunity.
And that shouldn’t come as a surprise.
There is still enormous demand for somewhere to live. Tenants are remaining in properties for longer, and a significant proportion expect renting to form a substantial – perhaps permanent – part of their lives.
The opportunity, therefore, is not simply to own rental property.
It is to own the right rental property and operate it well.
That means thinking beyond what the yield looks like on a spreadsheet. It means considering where people will want to build their lives, what sort of homes they will need as those lives develop, and what will make them want to stay.
The best landlords have always understood that distinction.
Their property may be an investment to them. But to the tenant who lives there, it is home.