The average tenancy deposit now stands at £1,210 which is up £121 or 11.1 per cent in the past year according to My Deposits.
The tenancy protection firm's latest survey of the deposits market also shows a startling regional gap of £1,266 between the average cost of deposits in the most expensive and cheapest parts in England and Wales.
London stays at the top of the most expensive average deposit paid by tenants around the UK with £1,859 (a rise of £166 or 9.8 per cent on this time last year).
Meanwhile the cheapest region is Yorkshire and The Humber on £593.
Since the start of Tenancy Deposit Protection in 2007 the cost of the average deposit has risen by around 40 per cent. The deposit value is usually tagged to the rental cost of the property - typically between four to six weeks' worth of rent - so the only real way to relieve some of the pressures on the rental market is to tackle the huge issue of undersupply of housing in the UK at present says Eddie Hooker, My Deposits chief executive.
Comments
Perhaps some of the increase is not attributed to rent levels alone. For example, our agency will ask for more deposit if the risk factor is high, e.g. zero hours contracts or self employed. Both of these areas have seen an increase recently (according to the media). Just a thought.