OVER two thirds of Southampton renters are experiencing property disrepair, new research has shown.

Housing disrepair is said to be a "prominent issue" for social and private home renters up and down the country according to Hodge Jones & Allen Solicitors.

The business Allen Solicitors surveyed 2,000 UK adults who have rented a residential property in the last five years to find out if they had experienced any issues, what the most common housing disrepair issues are across households, and the typical waiting time to get an issue fixed.

The research has now shown that 70% of Southampton renters experienced at least one disrepair issue, making it the fourth highest area in the UK.

The most common issues were damp, with 52% of people saying they'd experienced this, followed by heating or hot water problems at 37.3%.

Other issues mentioned were mould (37.2%), water leaks and blocked pipes (32.2%) and roof problems (27.4%).

The worst area in the country for property disrepair was London with 79%, closely followed by Manchester and Belfast respectively.

Southampton also came in second for the top 10 UK cities where the most tenants reported that their reported disrepair issue has not been fixed.

A total of 24% of those asked said their issues were not fixed, just behind Cardiff with 29%.

Farzana Chowdhury, Partner, Housing Help Team at Hodge Jones & Allen said:  “It’s worrying to see damp as the most common issue, as damp can cause health problems such as respiratory issues, respiratory infections, allergies or asthma."