Do landlords differentiate between sex of tenants

When it comes to acquiring a rental home in the UK, many potential tenants will appreciate that there are many mitigating factors that may stop them from being the preferred tenant.

However, while people may expect the fact that they have pets, no previous renting record, or a low paying job to be factors which may put them behind others, it may come as a surprise to know that some landlords are basing their decisions on the gender of applicants.

A study from Upad has discovered that this is often the case, with more than half of landlords in the UK caring about the gender of their applicant when it comes to a tenancy.

It said that 57.4 per cent of people renting out their homes saw this as a serious consideration in their decision-making process.

However, while the majority do say that they have preferences over what gender they prefer to let their UK property to, there appears to be no clear answer as to which is preferred over the others.

In general, some landlords will prefer to bring in female tenants for the simple reason that they are more neat and tidy and less likely to damage the property.

However, another large number of lenders have also said that they would rather have a man in their house. The reasons behind this thinking include the fact that they are better at DIY, and as such are more likely to change a light bulb or fix minor things without the landlord having to come out to do it themselves.

James Davis, chief executive officer of Upad, said: "Based on our findings it seems that the majority of landlords have a gender preference with the typical typecasts of men being good at general maintenance and women being clean and tidy still very much in association. However, what was interesting was the fact that while men and women can be penalised for various different reasons, it seems singletons are in the firing line as well."

He said that many lenders favour couples for the reason that they will be able to fulfill most of the jobs required in the home.