While home owners are moving more often, the time spent in rental properties by private rented sector tenants has increased by 12% over the last decade, data from Zero Deposit shows.

An analysis of the latest figures from the government’s English Housing Survey shows the number of years spent in a property for each segment of the market and how these lifestyle trends have changed over the years.

Homeowners are spending an average of 9.2 years in a property, which represents the second lowest amount of time spent in the last 10 years with the exception of the 2020 and 2021 pandemic year where it stood at 8.7 years.

It also marks a 13.9% reduction versus a decade ago, with homeowners remaining in their properties for 1.5 fewer years today compared to 2012 and 2013.

However, tenants in the private rented sector currently spend 4.3 years in their rental property.

While this has reduced slightly on an annual basis, down from 4.4 years, it sits 12.1% higher than a decade ago when tenants rented for an average of 3.8 years.

This figure is also higher than the average of 4.1 years seen over the last decade as a whole.

Zero Deposit says this highlights the importance of the private rental sector when it comes to providing long-term accommodation for those who haven’t made the transition to home ownership.

Zero Deposit chief executive officer Sam Reynolds comments: “Over the last ten years, tenants have grown increasingly reliant on the private rental sector due to the high cost of home ownership and we’ve also seen renting as a lifestyle choice result in tenants staying put for longer.”

“It’s also fair to say that, with renting itself becoming more expensive, many tenants would rather stay put once they’ve secured a rental property, rather than foot the costs of moving while their original deposit is still being held by their previous letting agent.”

“While the build to rent sector has looked to provide a solution to the requirement for longer term tenancies, it’s private rented sector landlords who are vital to the sector and are still shouldering the majority of the weight when it comes to the provision of these properties.”

“With the Renters Reform Bill also set to provide further security to tenants with respect to tenancy lengths and eviction powers, it’s likely that the time spent in the same rental property will continue to increase over the coming years.”