Just over a quarter of all tenants across private and public housing would not say if they had caused significant damage to a property they were renting.

While a sizable 58 per cent of respondents to a new poll of over 2,000 people conducted by YouGov claimed they would report the damage to the agent or landlord, some 27 per cent said they would not.

Around one in nine would attempt to repair the damage themselves, a slightly larger number would hire a professional for the repair work – a few suggested they would hide the damage and hope it wouldn’t be discovered at the end of the tenancy.

Of the honest respondents who would own up to the damages, 24 per cent would offer to pay the full repair bill, seven per cent would offer at least a contribution to the repair bill, and 27 per cent would wait and see if they needed to pay anything.

Looking at private sector tenants alone, no fewer than 33 per cent would not voluntarily let their agent or landlord know about significant damage to a property, with 15 per cent attempting a DIY fix and 17 per cent hiring a professional to repair the damage.

In comparison, tenants renting from local authorities were less likely to try and avoid telling their landlord about damages.

The survey was conducted for online property marketplace TheHouseShop.

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