Skip to content

Average residential tenancy deposit in England and Wales up 11% year on year

They average amount protected by mydeposits now stands at £1,210 up £121 from this time last year and up 1% from the second quarter of 2014, the firm’s latest tenancy deposit digest shows.

The figures also show a difference of £1,266 between the average cost of deposits in the most expensive and cheapest regions in England and Wales.

London stays at the top of the most expensive average deposit paid by tenants around the UK in the third quarter of the year with £1,859 on average being spent in the capital, a 9.8% increase from this time last year.

The research also shows a 5.6% quarterly increase in London while the cheapest region for average deposit is the same as the second quarter with Yorkshire and The Humber on average spending £593.

The South East saw the greatest monetary increase in deposit values quarter on quarter with a rise of 20.3%, however the North East has witnessed a growth in average deposit of 37.7% which is the biggest proportional growth across England and Wales.

The East Midlands and the North West are the only two regions not to have seen a quarterly rise while the East Midlands saw the biggest fall of 9.3% which is subsequently more than double the amount in the North West where deposits fell by 3.7%.

Deposits in the South West have risen similar to that of London year on year at 19.3% which is the biggest proportional growth across all the regions over the 12 months. The East of England saw the only drop in deposit value and growth with a fall of 0.3%.

Despite deposits in the East Midlands growing at a similar rate to London over the last 12 months, the average value of deposits is three times more in the capital reflecting the higher overall cost of living in London.

‘Since the start of Tenancy Deposit Protection in 2007 the cost of the average deposit has risen by around 40%, and much like the cost of rents, deposits continue to rise year on year,’ said Eddie Hooker, chief executive officer of mydeposits.

‘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,’ he explained.

‘It will be one of the biggest challenges for the next elected government, so it’s concerning  to see that not all political parties have ironed out the details of their housing manifesto pledges in build-up to next May’s general election,’ he added.

Related