Almost a third of renters rate the process of finding a rental property as average at best, with the laborious process of completing paperwork and poor communication from letting agents ranking as the ‘biggest pain points,’ says industry firm Dwelly.

Sam Humphreys (pictured), Head of M&A at Dwelly, however, defends agents, saying: “The rental market landscape has evolved dramatically over the years, but despite the many improvements made, many renters continue to find the process of securing a property challenging and for the same reasons they did twenty odd years ago.

“As a result, as many as 30% of renters find the process of finding a rental property average at best, but it’s fair to say that this isn’t due to a lack of care on the side of letting agents.

They simply don’t have enough hours in the day.”

“Demand for rental homes has exploded in recent years as soaring house prices have forced many to rent for longer.

“At the same time, the government’s consistent attack on buy-to-let landlords has reduced the level of stock available, and so it’s no surprise that finding a suitable property is the biggest obstacle facing today’s renters.

“We’ve also seen the level of paperwork and compliance requirements increase, which has put further pressure on letting agents who are already dealing with a high volume of applicants.

“The result of this operation strain is a perception amongst renters that letting agents aren’t on the ball and are poor at communicating, when the reality is they simply don’t have enough hours in the day.”

Poor or very poor

The survey of over 1,000 UK renters found that when they were asked to rate the overall experience of securing their most recent rental property, 30% replied that it was average at best, and some said it was poor or very poor.

Dwelly suggests that the length of time it takes to secure a new home could be one of the key drivers of their dissatisfaction, with 44% saying it took them more than four weeks once they had begun their search. A further 22% said it took between two to four weeks, and 60% ranked the ability to find a suitable rental property as the biggest obstacle in securing a place to live.

Once they managed to find somewhere, the ‘laborious application process’ and the paperwork involved, such as ID checks and referencing, ranked as the next biggest obstacle, with poor communication from letting agents also making the top three.

It is why, Dwelly says, that 40% of renters found the process of securing a rental property ‘difficult’, with just 12% stating it was an ‘easy experience’.