According to data that highlights how alarmed tenants are about the prospect of a big rise in energy costs, the most popular search term for people looking online for a place to rent is “Bills included.”
For the first time, properties with monthly outgoings included in the rent have been seen as more desirable by prospective tenants than properties with pets or gardens.
Most UK private rental properties don’t include utilities in the rent, but student houses are often let by landlords on a bills-included basis.
The most popular renter search term as of this month was “bills included,” as people tried to get more certainty about their outgoings at a time of rapidly rising costs.
The site gives people the ability to prioritise their property search results. The bills did not make the top five. “Pets” came top, followed by “balcony”, “furnished”, “garden”, and finally “garage”.
The top spot this month was held by bills included, followed by pets and furnishings.
It was found that soaring energy bills and other living costs were making it hard for people to find a new place to live.
Many people were contacting agents about available properties across a much bigger area to have a better chance of finding somewhere within their budget.
Many people now have more flexibility in where they live as a result of hybrid working.
The average private rent in Britain has hit a record high, jumping by more than 20% in some areas. It found that the average advertised rent outside of London was 12% higher than a year ago.
A lot of this was due to a huge imbalance between demand and supply, according to the site.
The homelessness charity Crisis has warned that low-income renters are falling into a housing black hole, with an analysis it carried out in conjunction with the property website Zoopla suggesting that fewer than one in eight homes listed for rent were affordable to people receiving housing benefits.
According to Crisis and Zoopla, a huge shortfall in affordable homes in England was caused by soaring rents and a freeze on housing benefits. If the government wants to prevent thousands from being pushed into homelessness, it needs to increase housing benefits.
Google