- Over half (56%) of UK renters are 'flathugging': they're staying put in their current rental properties despite wanting to move.
- The top three deterrents to moving are the lack of available housing within budget, the shortage of rental supply, and stiff competition from other renters.
- Close to half (45%) of renters have actively avoided contact with landlords or agents in the past year, largely for fear of triggering rent increases.
- This means potentially dangerous issues such as faulty fire alarms and mould are going unchecked: in the past year alone one in seven (14%) tenants have avoided reporting a major repair issue.
More than half (56%) of UK renters are 'flathuggers': they want to move but they're staying put, according to new data from flatshare site SpareRoom. Flatsharers aged 40+ are more likely to be flathugging: 61% are staying in their current rental despite wanting to move compared to 52% of under 40s.
The top reason flatsharers aren't moving is that available housing is out of budget (73%). Over the past five years, average room rents in the UK have risen by 28% to a record high of £753 per month and in London by 37% to £995 per month1.
As shown in the table below, other barriers to moving include a shortage of places available to rent (44%), and competition for rooms being too high (32%). In Q3 2025, four people were searching for every room available to rent in the UK.
| Why have you decided to stay put? Select all that apply | Respondent % |
|---|---|
| Available housing is out of my budget | 73.0 |
| Lack of rooms/properties available to rent | 44.5 |
| Competition for rooms is too high | 32.2 |
| I'd have to move to another area to afford it | 30.1 |
| Available rooms are of a lower standard | 29.1 |
| Suitable rooms are let too quickly to get a viewing | 24.7 |
| The prospect of having to enter into a bidding war | 24.5 |
| It's hard to make time for viewings around my work | 22.6 |
Close to half (45%) of renters have actively avoided communicating with landlords or agents in the past year about issues with their rental properties, largely for fear of triggering rent increases, and meaning potentially dangerous issues are going unchecked.
In the past 12 months:
- 14% of flatsharers have avoided reporting a major repair issue in their properties
- 32% have avoided reporting a minor repair issue
- 25% have avoided reporting fixtures, fittings and appliances that need replacement or repairs
- 16% have avoided reporting a mould problem
- 8% have avoided reporting a safety-related issue e.g. faulty alarms
When asked why they'd avoided contact with their landlord or agent, the top reason was the fear of triggering a rent increase (58%). In second place (42%) was the feeling their landlord or agent either wouldn't respond or help fix the issue. Third was the want to 'avoid confrontation' (35%), followed by the fear of triggering an eviction (31%) in fourth place.
Flathugging isn't just stalling the mobility of renters, there are knock-on effects for careers and the broader economy too. More than six in 10 (61%) either strongly agreed or agreed that the rental market had had a negative effect on their career progression.
Close to a fifth (19%) of renters said that, in the past two years, they'd turned down a job offer to avoid having to look for a new place to rent. Of these respondents, 51% had to forgo higher pay, 40% missed out on a better work-life balance, and 35% had to decline a promotion or another career progression opportunity.
Matt Hutchinson, director of flatshare site SpareRoom, comments: “A healthy economy relies on a flexible workforce, which we won't have if people can't move. With UK room rents now at record highs, and household affordability stretched, many tenants simply have no choice but to stay put and hope their rent doesn't get any higher. Even for those who could afford to move, avoiding the stress of the rental market is taking priority over career progression and opportunities.
“Home is supposed to be a solid platform that lets people go out and build happy, productive lives, yet clearly for many people this simply isn't the case. If we've reached the point where people are turning down job opportunities and career progression for fear of having to re-enter the rental market, our politicians are letting people down in a major way and have been for years.
“The upside is that the Renters' Rights Act addresses some of the key problems tenants face. The end of no-fault evictions, a once-per-year limit on rent increases, and an end to bidding wars and fixed-term tenancies will adjust the balance of fairness for renters and hopefully remove some of the fear and uncertainty around reporting issues.”