Why do tenants rent the homes in which they live? Because they cannot afford to buy, suggest the results of a recent survey published on the website Property Wire on the 25th of January 2018.
This was the reason for renting given by almost a half (46%) of the respondents. Tenants are also struggling so much financially that 34% said they are unable to save anything at all, while 60% said their incomes were insufficient to make regular, long-term savings.
The risks
With tenants’ finances already in such a perilous state, Property Wire discusses the very real risk of many of them (39%) becoming homeless and having nowhere else to go if a sudden loss of income or the ability to work left them unable to pay the rent.
More than half of all tenants (51%) worry about being able to pay the rent. If an accident, an illness or sudden unemployment or a reduction in wages occurs, few of them may have alternative resources to fall back upon. Many tenants do have limited savings, but these are typically less than those which homeowners can afford to put by – Property Wire says that the savings held by tenants amount to an average of ££9,260, compared to the average £21,152 held by mortgage borrowers.
But it is not only accidents, illnesses or unemployment that plunge tenants into significant financial difficulties.
The theft, loss or damage to the belongings and possessions they have in their rented accommodation might involve considerable expense in replacing or repairing essential items – putting still further strain on their ability to pay the rent. Yet according to a survey conducted some years ago, only an estimated 39% of tenants have contents insurance (compared to the 89% of homeowners who have this safety net).
Renters contents insurance
Here at UKinsuranceNET, therefore, we encourage tenants of every shape and hue to consider protecting their possessions with renters contents insurance.
In return for what many consider to be a small monthly premium, contents insurance for renters provides security against the costs involved in replacing or repairing essential items – and, so, helps to avoid the consequences of falling behind with the rent if the worst comes to the worst.
In that way, renters contents insurance may help a whole range of different types of tenant:
- it includes the many tenants who may be renting their accommodation from a housing association, the council or a private landlord and who stand to benefit from the protection of everything they own in the property;
- students may be renting their own room – in a converted property or purpose-built student accommodation – or sharing a house with fellow students and also benefit from the security of insuring essential belongings;
- those on low incomes and living in the shared accommodation of a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) may be especially vulnerable to employment that is cut short by an accident or illness – so renters contents insurance might at least protect them against the financial cost of replacing stolen, lost or damaged possessions;
- if you are lodging in your landlord’s own home, you may still need the protection of renters contents insurance to safeguard your belongings; and
- even if you are a leaseholder in a large block of flats, you might have shared the cost of insuring the structure and fabric of the building through exercising your Right to Manage, but still need separate insurance cover for the contents of your flat.
Renters contents insurance, therefore, may provide the safety net you require when essential belongings are lost or damaged, and you need to replace or repair them without jeopardising your ability to pay the rent.