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Market Outlook

Renting to Generation Z: Are You Ready?

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Blog post: renting-new-generation-ready

Key Takeaways

  • Generation Z renters are "digital natives," expecting many landlord/tenant processes to happen online—applications, payments, communications, and lease signing.
  • More than half of renters in 2025 are under 35, meaning Gen-Z is already a large and growing segment of the rental market.
  • To attract Gen-Z renters, landlords should offer features like online rent payments (including via credit cards), virtual/360-degree tours, interactive websites, and seamless digital communication.
  • Now is the time to adopt tech-forward strategies and partner with digital service providers to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving rental landscape.

Are You Ready To Rent To Gen-Z?

The apartment industry has been obsessing over millennials for years, and for good reason. Millennials are responsible for the recent, drastic increase in rental housing demand. But believe it or not, there’s already a new generation on the way.

As of June 2025, over 50% of the rental population is now below the age of 35, a population that mostly consists of Gen-Z renters. The oldest members of Generation Z graduated and entered the workforce starting in 2017. Gen-Z roughly consists of individuals who were born from the mid-1990s to 2010. Surprisingly, Gen-Z is more interested in home ownership than their older siblings, but most don’t expect to own a home of their own until they’re at least 28, well past the age of past generations.

But until then they’ll be renting, so if you can identify and target the things this new generation values, you’ll have easy occupancy for years to come.

Generation Z is Acclimated to Digital Spaces

Generation Z includes the most digitally acclimated members of society. While the oldest Gen-Zers are old enough to grow up with Gameboys, Tamagotchis, and flip phones, the younger ones don’t know a world without cutting edge smartphone technology and ubiquitous internet access.

They also rely on the web and mobile devices to search for goods and services more frequently than older generations. For Gen-Z, everything from school assignments, grocery shopping, take-out ordering, banking, and yes, even paying rent, happens online. Which is why it’s more important now than ever to address your digital approach.

Finding Renters in the New Generation

Generation Z relies on the internet for most things in their lives. Finding an available property to rent, viewing said property, and contacting the landlord all from online resources isn’t anything out of the ordinary for this generation. In 2025, over 50% of the rental population is below the age of 35, and that number is rising. Whether you’ve experienced it yet or not, Gen-Zers will soon become the dominant renters in the coming years.  Catering to their digital ways will have a positive impact on your image as an effective landlord and will increase your re-signing rate. Get ahead of the game; don’t wait to be overlooked.

Generation Z has a fast paced, digitally focused life.  Millennials favored simple, digital solutions to their everyday problems; Gen-Z expects them. For the rental housing industry, Gen-Z renters want online rental payment with credit cards, an interactive website, 360 degree virtual tours, online lease signing, and flawless connection and communication between tenant and landlord. Catering to this sensibility will be challenging for those less tech savvy landlords, but it doesn’t have to be. Whether it’s us here at Innago or someone else, find a great digital partner that can personally walk you through the steps to prepare and respond to the changing rental demographics.

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