Short-term lets - impact on communities: research

Appendix 2 – Resident and host survey profiles

This appendix outlines the profile of the resident and host respondents in the surveys, with some additional information on the type of property and ownership of short-term lets (STLs).

Profile of residents in the survey

Age

Resident respondents came from a broad range of ages, with 40% being in the 16 to 44 age bands, 35% in the 45 to 64 age bands and 26% aged 65+^[54].

Table 4: Profile of resident respondents by age

Age	%
16 to 24	11%
25 to 34	16%
35 to 44	13%
45 to 54	15%
55 to 64	20%
65+	26%
Base	197

Gender

49% of respondents identified their gender as Woman / Girl, 48% as Man / Boy and with the remaining 3% preferred not to say.

Table 5: Profile of resident respondents by gender

Gender	%
Man / Boy	48%
Woman / Girl	49%
Prefer not to say	3%
Base	197

Household type

A broad range of household types were included in the survey, with the most common being small adult households (34%), single adult households (16%), small family households (12%) and older smaller households (12%)^[55].

Table 6: Profile of resident respondents by household type

Household type	%
Single adult	16%
Single parent	4%
Single older household	9%
Small family	12%
Older smaller household	12%
Large adult household	9%
Small adult household	34%
Large family	1%
Other	4%
Prefer not to say	1%
Base	197

Working status

In 51% of cases the head of household was in full-time employment and in a further 10% of cases was in part-time employment. In 26% of cases the head of household was retired. Other respondents were either unemployed, looking after family/home, in full-time education or preferred not to provide this information.

Table 7: Profile of resident respondents by working status of head of household

Working status of head of household	%
Full-time employment (30+ hours per week)	51%
Part-time employment (fewer than 30 hours per week)	10%
Unemployed	3%
Looking after family / the home full-time	4%
Retired	26%
Full-time education	4%
Other	1%
Prefer not to say	2%
Base	197

Type of home

42% of respondents indicated that they lived in a flat, maisonette or apartment, 27% in a semi-detached home (house or bungalow), 14% in a detached home (house or bungalow), 12% in a terraced home with the remainder living in a variety of other housing types. The small number of 'other' responses included responses that could not directly be classified to the above categories (such as cottage, croft, farmhouse or similar).

Table 8: Profile of resident respondents by type of home

Type of home	%
Detached house	9%
Detached bungalow	5%
Semi-detached house	22%
Semi-detached bungalow	5%
Terraced / end-of-terrace house	12%
A flat, maisonette or apartment (including four-in-a-block or conversion)	42%
A room or rooms	1%
A caravan, mobile home or a houseboat	1%
Some other kind of accommodation	4%
Base	197

Housing tenure

39% of respondents indicated that they owned their home outright and a further 21% that they were buying their home with a mortgage/loan, 23% were renting privately and 16% were living in social rented accommodation with 1% paying part rent, part mortgage.

Table 9: Profile of resident respondents by tenure

Tenure	%
Buying with mortgage /loan	21%
Own it outright	39%
Rent privately	23%
Rent from local authority / council / housing association / housing cooperative or charity	16%
Pay part-rent / part-mortgage	1%
Base	197

Profile of hosts in the survey

Age

Host respondents tended to be in the older age categories, with 53% in the 45 to 64 age bands, 16% in the 65+ age band, and the remaining 29% in the 16 to 44 age bands^[56].

Table 10: Profile of host respondents by age

Age	%
16 to 24	2%
25 to 34	9%
35 to 44	18%
45 to 54	23%
55 to 64	30%
65+	16%
Prefer not to say	2%
Base	227

Gender

60% of host respondents identified their gender as Woman / Girl, and 38% as Man / Boy and with the remaining 2% indicating that they preferred not to say.

Table 11: Profile of host respondents by gender

Gender	%
Man / Boy	38%
Woman / Girl	60%
Prefer not to say	2%
Base	227

Working status

42% of host respondents were in full-time employment and a further 17% were in part-time employment. 21% of hosts were retired. Other respondents were either unemployed, looking after family/home, in full-time education or preferred not to provide this information. For the 'other' responses almost all comprised respondents that described themselves as self-employed.

Table 12: Profile of host respondents by working status

Working status	%
Full-time employment (30+ hours per week)	42%
Part-time employment (fewer than 30 hours per week)	17%
Unemployed	2%
Looking after family / the home full-time	4%
Retired	21%
Full-time education	2%
Other	9%
Prefer not to say	3%
Base	227

Numbers of short-term let properties

Host respondents were asked to indicate the number of properties that they offered as STLs lets, this being broken down into private rooms and entire properties (224 respondents answered this question). As shown below, over half of hosts offered a single property and a further 23% offered 2 properties. Those offering 10 or more properties represented 2% of respondents (though it is noted that this equates to 26% of properties listed due to the larger number of short-term lets offered by each of these respondents).

Overall, these respondents represented a total of 530 STLs listings, of which 29% were private rooms and 71% entire properties.

Table 13: Numbers of short-term lets offered

Number of short-term lets offered	%
1	56%
2	23%
3	12%
4 to 10	7%
More than 10	2%
Base	224

Types of property used as short-term lets

Host respondents were asked to categorise their STLs properties in terms of type of home (multiple responses were allowed for this, given that some respondents had more than one listing).

50% of host respondents stated they let out some type of flat - 33% of respondents let a flat, maisonette or apartment with a shared entrance, and a further 17% let a flat, maisonette or apartment with a private entrance. Nearly a quarter, 24% of respondents indicated that they let a detached house, 15% a semi-detached or terraced house, 10% a room or rooms and 8% some other kind of accommodation.

Table 14: Profile of types of property used by hosts as short-term lets

Types of property used as short-term lets	%
Detached house	24%
Semi-detached or terraced house	15%
A flat, maisonette or apartment with shared entrance	33%
A flat, maisonette or apartment with private entrance	17%
A room or rooms	10%
Some other kind of accommodation	8%
Prefer not to say	1%
Base	227

Ownership situation of short-term lets

In the vast majority of instances (96%) respondents indicated that they had a STL that was owned by themselves or a close family member. 2% indicated that they rented the property themselves from someone else and 2% that they acted for someone else. 1% of respondents indicated that they preferred not to say. Multiple responses were allowed for this question and generally included a small number of individuals that owned a STL whilst also acting as an agent for others.

Table 15: Profile of ownership situation of short-term lets

Ownership situation of short-term lets	%
Owned by myself or a close family member	96%
Rented by myself from another owner	2%
Owned by someone else, with myself acting as their agent for the short-term let	2%
Prefer not to say	1%
Base	227

Period of time being a host

A total of 60% of respondents stated they had been offering their property or properties for let through online accommodation platforms for less than 3 years - 41% of hosts for approximately 1 to 3 years and 19% for less than a year. 22% stated they had been letting in this way for more than 5 years and a further 18% indicated that they had been doing letting approximately 3 to 5 years.

Table 16: Profile of period for which hosts have been offering short-term lets

Period of time offering short-term lets	%
Less than a year	19%
Between approximately 1 to 3 years	41%
Between approximately 3 to 5 years	18%
More than 5 years	22%
Prefer not to say	1%
Base	227