Survey: How Will Landlords and Tenants Vote in the 2024 General Election?

• 37.8% of tenants support Labour, with almost 70% advocating for rent controls
• Landlords stand by the Conservative Party despite significant disappointment (38.2%) with Rishi Sunak’s government
• A surprise contender, Reform UK, captures 14.4% of landlord votes

OpenRent, the UK’s largest letting agent has conducted a survey to uncover the political preferences of landlords and tenants ahead of the 2024 general election on Thursday, 4th July. 

Sent to 20,000 landlords and 20,000 tenants nationwide, this survey provides revealing insights into the needs and concerns of these key figures in the private rented sector.

Tenants’ political preferences and policy priorities

Tenants lean towards the Labour Party, with 37.8% indicating their intention to vote Labour, while a significant 32.5% remain undecided. The Green Party follows with 8.4%, whereas the Conservatives lag behind at 5.3%, contrasting sharply with landlords’ preference of 25.9%.

Among tenants, housing and rental market policies hold even greater importance, with 59.7% considering them “Very important”.

Moreover, dissatisfaction with the current government’s performance is notably high, with 65.3% “Very dissatisfied” and 20.0% “Dissatisfied”.

Tenants are calling for several key policy changes, including, rent controls and/or rent caps to limit rent increases and better support for low-income tenants and housing benefits.

It’s worth noting that, despite strong campaigning for the abolition of Section 21, meaning ending ‘no-fault’ evictions, only about a quarter of tenants expressed interest in “longer and more secure” tenancies. 

1	Rent controls and/or rent caps to limit rent increases	67.5%
2	Better support for low-income tenants and housing benefits	54.1%
3	More affordable housing construction	45.0%
4	Stronger tenant rights and protections	41.6%
5	Improved standards for property maintenance and repairs	32.5%
6	Longer and more secure tenancies	26.6%
7	Increased regulation of letting agents and landlords	23.8%
8	Stricter regulations and protections against unfair evictions	22.5%
9	Greater transparency in the rental process (e.g., fees, contracts)	17.2%
10	Enhanced energy efficiency standards for rental properties	12.5%
11	Other	6.6%

Landlords’ political preferences and policy priorities

Similar to tenants, a substantial portion of landlords remain undecided about which party to support, with 30.8% yet to make a choice. Among those who have decided, the Conservative Party leads with 25.9%, followed by the Labour Party at 15.3% and Reform UK at 14.4%.

Housing and rental market policies are important for landlords, with 44.2% rating them as “Very important” in their voting decision.

However, there is widespread dissatisfaction with the current government’s handling of these issues, as 38.2% of landlords feel “Very dissatisfied” and 36.4% are “Dissatisfied”.

Landlords have also voiced their policy preferences for the next government, including lower tax obligations on rental income and improved protections against tenant damage and rent defaults.

There’s also strong demand for quicker, more efficient eviction processes, even though Section 21 evictions remain in place, as the Renters (Reform) Bill didn’t pass into law before the dissolution of parliament.

1	Reduced tax burdens on rental income	64.3%
2	Greater protection against tenant damage and rent arrears	62.1%
3	Quicker and easier eviction processes	60.4%
4	More favourable mortgage interest tax relief	50.5%
5	Financial incentives for maintaining and upgrading rental properties	31.2%
6	Funding to support energy efficiency upgrades	30.5%
7	Fair and consistent enforcement of licensing and accreditation standards	16.7%
8	Greater flexibility in setting rental prices and terms	16.0%
9	Better benefits and support for tenants in financial difficulty	12.7%
10	Increased housing supply and new construction	11.4%
11	Other	6.3%

Implications for the 2024 election

“Housing is one of the biggest issues for voters, and the country. Our unprecedented survey shows significant dissatisfaction with government policy from both tenants and landlords alike,” says Adam Hyslop, founder of OpenRent.

“These are real people, with real problems, and whichever party wins in July should take the concerns expressed by both sides of the rental market very seriously.”

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