Remote work is changing the habits of America’s renters, leading to new models for how large complexes may be operated in the future, a new industry survey shows.

The National Multifamily Housing Council’s annual renter survey showed apartment dwellers are moving more often, would consider a “digital nomad” rental plan and support a loosening of restrictions on subleasing through Airbnb-type sites.

“Renters of all stripes were on the move over the last 18 months,” said Rick Haughey, the multifamily council’s vice president of industry technology said. “ … That’s kind of a big deal. (With) 40 million Americans in apartments, any type of shift has significant implications.”

The council, an association of large U.S. apartment owners and operators, surveyed more than 220,000 renters at 4,564 apartment complexes in September and October. The council has conducted the renter preference survey annually since 2013.

The survey’s unveiling at the Miami conference of the National Association of Real Estate Editors on Thursday, Dec. 9, gave reporters a sneak peek at data due for a full release in mid-January.

The survey showed 46% of renters said they would consider joining an apartment version of a vacation club, which would allow residents to live in several different cities over the course of a year.

The greatest interest was among 35- to 44-year-olds, with 61% in that age group saying they’d consider joining such a rental membership program. More than half of all adults under 55 also expressed interest.

The industry doesn’t provide such a program yet, but many apartment owners are thinking about it as a way to retain short-term tenants who might otherwise leave after their three-month lease expires, Haughey said.

If they’re going to go somewhere else, some owners say, their portfolios are big enough to have them move into one of their properties elsewhere.

Apartment operators began to consider renter membership plans before the pandemic when digital nomads were a tiny slice of the renter market, he said.

“The question now is how big a slice is that (today)?” he said.

The survey also showed that 60% of respondents moved during the 18 months following pandemic lockdowns. That’s up from 27% of apartment householders moving in 2019, U.S. Census data shows.

In a typical year, most apartment dwellers move because they’re looking for a better deal or better amenities and community space, Haughey said. But of those who moved since the pandemic, 25% did so because their jobs shifted to remote work.

And 73% expect to continue working from home for the same amount of time or more next year.

“That’s going to have a significant impact on how we design apartments moving forward,” he said.

For example, 35% of renters expressed interest in using a shared workspace within an apartment complex.

In addition, almost a third of tenants also expressed support for a plan that would allow them to sublease their apartments on Airbnb and other short-term rental sites.

The practice currently is banned under terms of most leases. But some landlords complained their tenants took advantage of COVID-19 era eviction moratoriums to list their apartments on Airbnb anyway.

The multifamily housing council also got some pushback from other tenants who don’t want strangers coming and going in their neighbors’ units. More than 10% said they wouldn’t rent in a complex where Airbnb rentals were allowed.

That could be enough of a deterrent to keep subleasing bans in place, Haughey said.

“That’s a big deal for our membership that over 10% said they wouldn’t rent if their neighbors were renting out on Airbnb,” he said…(more)