A recent study has revealed that, contrary to Government proposals, tenants in Manchester don’t want three-year tenancies, with only 8.3 percent stating that they would prefer a tenancy lasting three years.

The research from Manchester-based online letting agent MakeUrMove found that instead, 31 percent of tenants in the city want tenancies to last 12 months, and a further 17 percent want tenancies to last for no more than two years.

The Government recently held a consultation on introducing three-year minimum tenancies, with a six month break clause option. The proposals are designed to protect tenants from eviction.

While the outcome of the consultation is yet to be published, these new findings show many in Manchester prefer flexibility and freedom when it comes to tenancies, with a third saying flexibility was the most important factor when looking at the length of their tenancy.

28 percent of tenants in Manchester stated that they’d actually like a tenancy to last significantly longer than three years, and 40 percent of the tenants questioned had spent more than five years in their current rental property.

MakeUrMove managing director, Alexandra Morris, commented: “Many tenancy agreements are currently set at twelve months with a six months break clause and we’ve found nearly a third of tenants in Manchester are happy with this length. Our findings reinforce that the majority of people want either the flexibility of a shorter rental, or the security of a much, much longer term.

“The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government stated that ‘being able to call your rental property your home is vital to putting down roots and building stronger communities’, yet our research shows that 90 percent of tenants in the city already think of their rental property as a home under the current regulations.”

The findings also revealed that 63 percent of Manchester tenants surveyed had been the ones to give notice on their last tenancy, with just 1 percent being evicted by the landlord.

Alexandra added: “While we don’t yet know the outcome of the consultation, our study suggests three-year minimum tenancies aren’t going to address tenants key concerns around their rental properties. The Government has once again looked at an issue in isolation with no regard for other related issues and proposed regulations. We believe that in order to make the rental market work for everyone, someone needs to take a step back and look at the cumulative effect of all changes to the market.”

MakeUrMove worked with 3Gem to survey 2,000 tenants about the current rental market.

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