As banks try to become landlords, who would Britons prefer to rent from?

Lloyds Banking Group recently announced a major foray into the UK rental market – starting with a 45-home development in Peterborough, and with the eventual aim to buy as many as 50,000 new-build British homes in the next decade and market them under its Citra Living brand.

Data from YouGov Direct shows that, when presented with the hypothetical option of renting a property from a private landlord or a bank, banks have a significant edge. Over two in five Britons (44%) said they would prefer to rent from a financial institution compared to just a third (34%) who would opt for the private landlord. A fifth (22%) don’t know either way.

However, this is certainly being skewed by older Britons – who are more likely to own property and less likely to have recent experience of renting from landlords. Among over 55s, 56% would prefer to rent from a bank compared to a quarter (25%) who would opt for a landlord. Those aged 35-54 demonstrate a slight preference for banks (40% banks vs. 36% landlords), but those aged 18-34 are happier to take their chances in the private rental sector (45% landlord; 31% bank). That still, of course, leaves a sizable chunk of younger renters who are open to the idea of taking out a tenancy with a financial institution yet perhaps also speaks to the fact that this group has a less strong relationship with banks.

Along geographical lines, people are most likely to prefer to rent from a bank if they live in a town (48% vs. 34%), followed by suburbs (44% vs. 34%), then rural areas (42% vs. 30%) and cities (39% vs. 37%) – where people are by some distance more likely to favour landlords.

Wherever banks may be offering rental units, and to whatever demographic, it’s clear that the idea has some appeal to at least a portion of the British population.

Methodology

YouGov polled 1500 British adults online on 27 August 2021 between 11:01 and 14:46 BST. The survey was carried out through YouGov Direct. Data is weighted by age, gender, education level, region, and social grade. Results are nationally representative of adults in Great Britain. The margin of error is 4.1% for the overall sample. Learn more about YouGov Direct.

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