Deposit alternative provider, flatfair, has reported record figures for the first quarter of 2024.

From January to March, 56% of tenants chose flatfair No Deposit over a traditional deposit when offered the two options side by side – their highest figure to date.

CEO Gary Wright believes the significant rise in tenant preferences can be attributed to increasing rents. He says: “According to research from Homelet, rents were 7.9% higher than the same period last year. That means the average five week traditional deposit rose to £1,617 – higher than ever before.

“We’re also noticing a marked increase in the number of landlords willing to offer the choice of a deposit alternative on their properties.”

According to a rental report released by Uswitch last month, the percentage of landlords reporting rental arrears from tenants was 35% in Q3 2023. And online mortgage lender Molo reported that landlords in the UK were experiencing on average 2.9 late payments per year and 44% of them were worried about the levels of arrears for 2024.

Wright says agents using flatfair benefit from valuable time savings too, from the company’s partnerships with the major CRMs.