Among the unwanted: tenants with animals, families with three children and ... IT specialists at a remote location. During self-isolation, the owners were more loyal: 7 out of 10 potential tenants received consent.
Self-isolation has brought about major changes in the behavior of participants in the long-term rental market. Apartment owners have ceased to be as loyal as during the quarantine, refusing to move in in half of the cases. After self-isolation, tenants began to have pets more often. The easiest way is to find an apartment for a family with children, and "remote workers" lose the trust of the rentiers due to increased mobility. These and other changes in the segment were reported by the experts of the "Hand over / Take off" service on Cyan.

As believed:

The "Rent / Take Off" service on Cyan is intended for direct rental of apartments between owners and tenants. Potential employers fill out a questionnaire, which indicates the marital status, the composition of the residents, the presence of children, pets, and the field of activity. Based on the data in the application, the owner decides to move in. For further reporting, more than 10 thousand questionnaires from clients planning to rent an apartment in the capital were analyzed.

During self-isolation, apartment owners were ready to move in 7 out of 10 potential tenants. After the restrictions are lifted - only half, the rest are refused.
Almost a third of all tenants rent an apartment alone. After self-isolation, the share of those planning to rent housing together increased from 52 to 58%.
Completion of self-isolation as an excuse to live together: after a long quarantine, the share of couples who have not officially registered a relationship, but plan to rent an apartment together, has grown from 23 to 32%.
Landlords - for an official marriage: 49% of unmarried couples and 58% of officially married couples receive a positive decision. Rating of ideal tenants, according to rentiers: families and single tenants (55% of approved applications), unmarried couples (49%), non-relatives - friends, acquaintances (44%).
Of the 10 potential tenants, eight have no children. The chances of renting an apartment drop sharply with the appearance of the third child in the family. In general, the owners are more loyal to tenants with children than to childless clients.
After self-isolation, tenants began to have pets en masse: the share of such clients increased from 12 to 27%. Less than half of the owners are ready to occupy such tenants (47%).
Remote operators are losing the trust of the rentiers due to increased mobility. Despite high salaries, IT specialists are now less likely to move in.
Tenants move to residential areas, but refuse to live outside the Moscow Ring Road.
The more the distance, the more loyal the landlords

The self-isolation regime announced at the end of March 2020 led to a decrease in the incomes of many residents of the capital, among them were tenants who refused to continue living in the former facility. Some began to look for more affordable and budgetary options, others moved to relatives, including even left for other regions. This also affected telecommuting employees, who, during self-isolation, no longer made sense to overpay for an apartment in the center next to the office.

According to the service "Rent / Take off" on Cyan, the massive refusal of further leases contributed to the growth of loyalty of apartment owners. In April 2020 (the first month of self-isolation), 65% of those wishing to rent housing received consent from the owner to rent. In May and June, when restrictive measures were also in effect, 63% of potential tenants were approved to move in.

After the quarantine was canceled, when the capital companies gradually began to return to their usual work format, landlords began to evaluate potential tenants more strictly. In July, the share of positive decisions dropped immediately by 11 pp - to 52%. And in September, a new minimum was updated - only 47% of tenants approached apartment owners to conclude a lease agreement.

In October 2020, when companies were again required to transfer at least 30% of employees to remote locations, landlords also became more loyal: 57% of potential tenants received a positive decision.

Thus, the more employees are at a distance, the more loyal the owners of apartments for rent. However, despite the growing competition, rentiers are not ready to lower the bar and agree to the first tenant who applies for the sake of early settlement. Roughly a third of potential tenants are still rejected, even when demand is minimal.

Share of potential tenants who received a positive decision from apartment owners, Moscow

 According to the service "Hand over / Take off" on Cyan

Renting an apartment one at a time has become less frequent, together - more often

During the self-isolation period (April - June 2020), 29% of all potential tenants planned to live in a rented apartment alone. After the restrictions were lifted (July – October), the share of single tenants dropped to an average of 27%.

At the same time, the number of people willing to rent an apartment for two has grown: 52% during quarantine and 58% after. In September 2020, an absolute maximum was recorded in the share of applications for a 

renting an apartment for two (66% of the total).

How many people will live in a rented apartment

According to the service "Hand over / Take off" on Cyan

Completion of self-isolation as a reason to live together

After the lifting of restrictive measures in the rental market, the number of couples wishing to jointly rent an apartment after a forced separation increased significantly. The share of such potential tenants increased from 23 to 35% (among those who plan to live together). At the same time, the share of couples who officially registered their marriage (families without children) decreased from 66% during self-isolation to 57% after the lifting of restrictive measures. Subsidized mortgage rates contributed to the outflow of demand for married couples to the purchase and sale market, while others, on the contrary, were unable to maintain a relationship after several months of constant stay together. Another tenth of the rental market is occupied by non-family tenants (friends / acquaintances, etc.).

Who plans to rent an apartment for two


Friends

Couple

Family

Self-isolation (April-June)

ten%

23%

66%

After self-isolation (July-October)

eleven%

32%

57%

According to the service "Hand over / Take off" on Cyan

Rentiers are more willing to settle in officially registered marriage

The increase in the proportion of couples who decided to live together after self-isolation did not contribute to an increase in loyalty towards such tenants. For example, a married couple without children, which has not yet reached the registry office, receives a positive decision today only in 49% of cases, while a married couple without children, who have officially registered their marriage, in 58%. During the restrictive measures, loyalty was higher: 73% of applications from unmarried couples and 68% of married couples received approval.

The composition of future tenants (who plans to live together) and the percentage of a positive decision from apartment owners

According to the service "Hand over / Take off" on Cyan

Among all potential tenants in the market as a whole (not only those who are going to live together), the greatest chances of settling in rented housing have:

Families and one-by-one tenants (55% of applications are approved).
Unmarried couples (49%).
Non-relatives (friends / acquaintances) - 44% of approved applications.
The last rentiers are considered the least reliable: it is non-family people living under the same roof who can more easily leave, and the owner will have to decide the issues with payments.

The chances of renting an apartment drop sharply with the appearance of the third child in the family

79% of potential tenants in Moscow do not have children. During and after self-isolation, their share in the rental market did not change. The remaining 21% plan to move in with children. Rentiers today choose stability: for those who do not have children, the chance of moving into rented housing is today an average of 51% versus 62% during quarantine. The presence of a child, on the contrary, increases the chances of settling in - today 55% of potential clients with children can count on the consent of the owner who rents out housing. During the period of self-isolation, the share was higher - 65%.

However, the number of children in a family directly affects the chances of renting an apartment you like. Families with one child receive approval in 55% of cases (versus 67% during the period of self-isolation), with two children - in 59% (versus 66% during the quarantine period). It becomes more difficult to rent an apartment when there are three children - only 48% of approvals (51% during self-isolation). Families with four children or more are ready to settle only 21% of apartment owners (during self-isolation - 29%).

Probability for families with and without children to rent an apartment in Moscow

According to the service "Hand over / Take off" on Cyan

The presence of families with children, on the one hand, increases the chances of damage to the repair, especially if the child is still small. On the other hand, families with children are interested in long-term cooperation, as they are tied to neighboring kindergartens and schools. Therefore, family people are a priority for the rentiers, unless there are more than two children. More than half of tenants with children (61%) gave birth to one child, 32% - two children, 6% - three, 1% - four or more.

Demand structure of family buyers

According to the service "Hand over / Take off" on Cyan

After self-isolation, tenants began to have pets en masse

Forced self-isolation and the transition to a remote location became the reason to have a pet. During the self-isolation period, only 12% of tenants wanted to move in with a pet. After self-isolation, their share reaches 27%.

Couples (not officially registered) began to have pets more often - during self-isolation, only 21% of them had a pet. Today it is already 47%. The share of pets and family tenants increased significantly (from 13 to 27%).

More than half (66%) of potential tenant pet owners have a cat. Dogs ranked second in popularity (30%). The remaining 4% have birds and reptiles or have chosen rodents as pets.

Share of potential tenants with pets

According to the service "Hand over / Take off" on Cyan

However, the owners themselves do not support the enthusiasm of the tenants. In the presence of a pet, the share of approval on the application for the are 

NDU was 61% during self-isolation. After self-isolation, it dropped to 47%. For those without pets, the loyalty of the rentier dropped from 63% to 54%.

Among all pet owners among potential tenants, dog owners had the greatest chance of renting housing: during the period of self-isolation, 65% of rentiers made positive decisions on them, and after quarantine - only 49%. That is, it is more difficult to move in with a dog today.

The situation is similar with cat owners: during self-isolation, 57% of owners agreed to move in such tenants. After the restrictive measures were lifted, the share dropped to 45%. Thus, self-isolation was the best time to choose a suitable apartment for those with pets.

"Remote workers" lose credibility with rentiers due to increased mobility

The massive cancellation of leases during the period of self-isolation undermined the credibility of the rentier in many areas of activity. During the quarantine period, IT specialists had above average chances of settling in the housing they liked (73% of approved applications). After self-isolation, the share of positive decisions for such specialists dropped to 59%. This is partly due to the possibility of remote work, which was the reason for many specialists to refuse from the capital's lease. Banking employees are considered reliable among tenants; 70% of applications for them were approved during self-isolation. Today their share is 60%.

At the same time, loyalty to employees in the catering sector increased along with the removal of restrictions - from 39 to 47%, as well as in the medical sector - from 54 to 62%.

The fitness industry, despite the absence of restrictions, is assessed by the rentier as unreliable: during self-isolation, 79% of industry professionals received a positive decision, today - only 52%.

Tenants move to residential areas, but refuse to live outside the Moscow Ring Road

After the completion of self-isolation, tenants began to consider apartments in the North-Eastern Administrative District more often (the share of requests for this district is 16%), in comparison with the quarantine, the share increased by 7 pp. More often they began to move to the North-West Administrative District (+2 pp) and SEAD (+ 2 pp). At the same time, some of the tenants lost the owners of apartments in the VAO (–3 pp), NAO and CAO (–2 pp each).

Analysts note that rentiers renting out apartments in districts with falling demand have become less likely to refuse potential tenants, despite a general decrease in loyalty on average in the market. The percentage of approval of potential tenants in VAO increased immediately by 5 pp - from 51 to 56%. Rentiers who rent out apartments in the city center (CAD), having lost some of their clients, also began to more often agree to move in: the percentage of positive decisions increased from 62 to 64%.

The highest share of demand today falls on the North-Eastern Administrative District (16%), the South-Eastern Administrative District (12%), as well as the CJSC and the Southern Administrative District (11% each). The CAD, despite the high rental cost, takes 4% of the potential demand after self-isolation. In the outsiders - ZelAO and TAO - despite the remoteness, tenants are not ready to travel far from the Moscow Ring Road. At the same time, rentiers in the North-East Administrative District reduced loyalty by a third: from 69% during self-isolation to 42% after the lifting of restrictive measures. It was this district that began to enjoy the greatest demand among tenants.

According to the service "Hand over / Take off" on Cyan

“The rental market quickly reacts to any changes in customer preferences,” notes Victoria Kiryukhina, chief expert of the Cyan Analytical Center. - In this segment, the first changes in consumer demand can be noted, which in the future will be typical for the purchase and sale market. Just three months after self-isolation, we are seeing the first signs of demand decentralization, its shift to the periphery. The share of tenants who need an apartment larger than a one-room apartment is increasing. As the proportion of pet owners grows, clients will be more likely to choose projects with smaller infrastructure built for brothers. All these seemingly insignificant changes must be taken into account not only by the rentiers, but also by sellers and developers. Because most of today's tenants are future buyers. "