Tenant risk and age – think you know how it stacks up?

Who are the most reliable tenants: young people or old people?

Data from the Q1 2026 PayProp Rental Index paints a surprising picture of how tenant risk changes as they age, and also shows why a credit score alone isn’t the best risk indicator.

Generally speaking, the older a tenant is, the better their credit score. This comes down to credit history: the youngest tenants aren’t yet old enough to have a long track record of consistent debt repayments.

But that isn’t true for all sub-brackets within an age group. Because the very youngest (i.e., first-time) tenants do not have much of a spending record, they are actually less risky than some of their older peers. Our PayProp Rental Index data shows that the average 20-29-year-old tenant only spends 21.2% of their income on debt, making them the least indebted age group.  

This leaves them with more disposable income than any other age group: on average, 46.5% of their income is left over after rent and debt payments, compared to 28.1% for 30-39s and a tiny 6.7% for 40-49s. These middle age groups tend to spend the most on debt – debt spending peaks for 40-49s at 65.3% of income.

Disposable income is a critical part of measuring risk: tenants with plenty of disposable income can cope better with unexpected bills, making them less likely to fall into arrears.

Despite this, 20-29-year-olds are still not the most reliable tenants. While they’re less likely to fall into our highest risk category than 30-49-year-olds, they’re the least likely to be classed as minimum risk.  

The very safest tenants were in the oldest age groups. In the 50-59 group, more than half (50.5%) fell into our minimum risk group, and just 19.2% were classed as high risk. The 60+ generation were even less risky: a massive 60.7% were classed as minimum risk, compared to just 11.0% high risk.  

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For more insights into tenant risk, rental growth and more, download the PayProp Rental Index.