Rental deposits protected in authorised schemes increased by 82,000 during the last 12 months, according to the Deposit Protection Service m.

It was the second time in eight years that the increase in scheme-protected tenancies was below 100,000.

DPS managing director Matt Trevett says: “More tenants who want or need to move are staying put, most likely owing to a lack of suitable or affordable properties – at a time when rents for most tenancy holders continue to increase.

“Concerns about legislation, taxation and interest rates are leading to a significant proportion of landlords to question whether it’s worth staying in the sector, which, in turn, could potentially also affect the number of rental properties available long-term.”

Despite 36% of tenant respondents saying they would have liked to have moved during the last 12 months, only 16% did so, according to the report.

The report also revealed that 46% of respondents who had moved said their rents had increased between 11% and 30%.

Some 14% of respondents who moved paid between 0% and 10% more in rent.

Of all tenant respondents who said they’d experienced a rent increase 45% said they were paying up to 25% more than they were last year; a further 9% said they were paying substantially more than a quarter (25%) than last year.

The report noted that 50% of tenant respondents said they had rented for between one and five years: down five percentage points from October 2024.

The report also revealed how the largest (46%) proportion of responding renters were aged 35-55 (47% in October 2024 and 46% in March 2024).

For landlords respondents 52% are considering selling some or all of their portfolio (up five percentage points from October 2024).

Some 25% of those respondents are fully considering exiting the market within two years.

Of the landlords who indicated they were considering selling some or all of their properties, 89% said changes or proposed changes in legislation or regulation had influenced their intention to sell: the same proportion as October 2024.

And 74% said the level of returns after tax no longer no longer made holding rentals inside the PRS attractive – also unchanged since October 2024.

The report is available here: www.depositprotection.com/prs-review-july2025