A new study reveals that 42% of tenants in houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) move in with little to no knowledge about their future housemates. The research, conducted by shared living platform COHO, surveyed 5,145 UK HMO tenants.
Findings show 21% of tenants have felt unsafe due to a housemate, increasing to 27% for those aged 45 and above. Men reported feeling unsafe slightly more often (22%) than women (21%).
The State of Shared Living Report states 60% of respondents wished for more information about prospective housemates, while 53% wanted input on who joins their household. 40% would pay higher rent for compatible housemates.
England and Wales have 482,788 HMOs housing over 2 million people. The sector is evolving, with 40% of HMO tenants aged 30 or over, and 89% in paid work. 55% view shared living as a lifestyle choice, not a last resort.
Buy-to-let yields are at their highest since 2011, with HMOs offering better returns than single-let properties. However, rising rents and limited affordable housing remain issues.
Vann Vogstad, COHO’s CEO, stated: “Our research exposes a major gap in the way shared living works today. We ask people to share their homes with complete strangers, yet in many cases they are given little or no information about who they are going to live with. Tenants feeling unsafe in their own home, even once, is not something the sector can ignore.
He added: “As shared living becomes a bigger part of the housing market, landlords and operators must move away from treating housemates as anonymous occupants and instead recognise compatibility as an important part of creating successful shared homes.”
The research suggests that HMO landlords and operators may need to reconsider their tenant placement processes to address safety concerns and compatibility issues. With the sector housing over 2 million people and the demographic shifting towards older, working professionals, the findings point to a potential need for greater transparency in housemate selection procedures.