What Would Make Me Stay: How Tenants Are Redefining What Home Really Means
68% of tenants say the single biggest factor that would make them stay in their rental home long term is the relationship with their landlord or agent, above rent levels, location, or the quality of the property itself. That is the headline finding from LRG’s Winter 2025/26 Lettings Report, and it points to something the market has been slow to recognise: in a sector defined by legislation, tax and supply pressure, the most powerful lever available to landlords is also the most human one.
When tenants were asked what would most encourage them to remain in one rental home for the long term, 68% named a good relationship with their landlord or agent as their top answer. That placed it well ahead of feeling settled in the area (50%), stability in personal circumstances (45%) and confidence in building management and maintenance (44%). In a market where supply is tightening and choice is narrowing, the quality of the human relationship at the heart of a tenancy is the single most powerful driver of tenant retention.
The timing of this finding matters. The Renters’ Rights Act, which received Royal Assent in October 2025, is due to come into force in the coming months. Its most significant change is the move to periodic tenancies as the default, replacing fixed-term contracts. LRG’s data offers an early read on how tenants are responding to that shift: 24% say they now expect to stay longer in their current home as a result of the change to periodic agreements. That may sound modest, but it is a meaningful first signal that legislative intent and tenant behaviour are beginning to align.
Cost pressures remain a powerful shaping force. More than seven in ten tenants say wider cost pressures are influencing where they choose to live, with a third saying those pressures are influencing their decision a great deal. Nearly half of tenants report having fewer accommodation choices than a year ago, and 44% say it has been more difficult to find a home that meets their budget than the last time they searched. Against that backdrop, tenants who find a home that works are increasingly inclined to stay.
The data also reveals a generational shift in what tenants are looking for. Long-term suitability has overtaken cost as the most commonly cited priority among tenants when choosing their next home, cited by 52% of respondents. That figure rises among under-34s, who have also seen the steepest increase in expectations of what a rental home should offer: 42% of this age group say their expectations have increased in the past year, the highest of any cohort. The generation entering the rental market at the most difficult point in recent memory is also the generation demanding the most from it.
Landlords, for their part, have arrived at a remarkably similar conclusion about what they want from a tenancy. 72% say their preference is for tenants who stay indefinitely, compared with just 28% who prefer tenants for a fixed period. Of those who do prefer a fixed term, the overwhelming reason given is to allow for rent reviews, redecorations or tenancy renewals rather than to regain possession of the property. On the question of long-term stability, landlords and tenants are pointing in the same direction.
Independent data backs this up. The Deposit Protection Service reported in 2025 that the average tenancy in England and Wales has reached 1,085 days, almost three years, up 40% since 2021. Tenants are already staying longer, and the Renters’ Rights Act has not yet come into force. Meanwhile, Zoopla’s rental market data shows that there are 25% fewer properties available to rent than in 2019, with demand roughly double pre-pandemic levels. In a market this tight, tenants who find somewhere that works are holding on to it.
The English Housing Survey puts some numbers around the sentiment. 75% of private renters say their rental feels like home, and 78% say they currently feel safe from eviction. These are not the figures of a sector in crisis. They describe a population that has largely settled into long-term renting and wants the experience to reflect that reality.
What the LRG data adds is the human dimension that statistics alone cannot capture. The tenant who stays is not staying because of legislation or market conditions. They are staying because someone returned a call quickly, handled a repair without issue, and treated them as a person rather than a contract. The landlord who keeps a good tenant does not do so through rent or tenancy incentives. They are doing so through responsiveness, respect, and consistency. The most durable lettings relationships are built on the same foundations as any other long-term relationship: communication, trust, and reliability.
Allison Thompson, National Lettings Managing Director at LRG, commented,
“What this data tells us is that the rental market is growing up. Tenants are not just looking for somewhere to live. They are looking for somewhere to settle. And landlords, overwhelmingly, want the same thing. The shift to periodic tenancies is bringing that aligned ambition to the surface. Our role as agents is to help create the conditions for long-term relationships to form and thrive. The landlords who understand that tenant retention is the most valuable thing they can achieve in this market will be the ones who come through the next few years in the strongest position.”
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