Three in five tenants have no carbon monoxide alarm fitted in their property, while seven in 10 said their landlord has never arranged an annual gas inspection, despite it being a legal requirement.
As many as 17% have reported their landlords failing to carry out routing maintenance.
Darrell Sansom, managing director at AXA Business Insurance, said: “There are simple things landlords need to do to comply with the law and ensure decent safety standards for their tenants.
“Keeping an eye on your property must come first: we know that a third of landlords never visit their rental properties after a tenant moves in, and quarterly checks are only conducted by 17%.
“Too many landlords are leaving themselves open to serious property risks, and even prosecution, by not maintaining adequate fire and gas safety measures.
“Arranging annual gas inspections and ensuring tenants aren’t at risk of fires from old wiring are one part of the picture. Landlords are also going to face increased pressure from government to update their heating and energy systems in order to keep tenants’ bills down.”
AXA also revealed that nearly three in five (59%) tenants rent after being shut out of the property ladder due to inflated house prices, while at the other end of the scale 17% rent primarily because they ‘prefer the freedom’.
In terms of tenant-landlord relationships, 59% of tenants viewed their landlord positively, 13% described them as greedy while 4% called them ruthless.
