29^th Jul 2019

According to the government's latest English Housing Survey (2017/18), around 20% of tenants do not know if their landlord or letting agent has protected their tenancy deposit.


The English Housing Survey examined tenants' views and experiences of renting homes.

Just under three quarters (73%) of tenants who had paid their deposit before moving into a new residence reported it was protected, however one fifth were uncertain as to whether it had been.

The survey also uncovered the type and cost of fees that tenants had to pay prior to the ban.

The majority of tenants paid somewhere between £100 and £300 to their agents.

Just under a half (44%) of the 2,329 tenants that took part in the survey, reported that they had to pay fees for their current tenancy.

Non-returnable administration fees for references were the most common at 60%, followed by reference admin fees (43%), inventories and contracts (29%), finder's fees (29%), holding fees (non-returnable 12%, returnable 7%) and not forgetting the infamous ‘Right to Rent’ checks (9%).

The survey, contrary to media coverage, shows that the vast majority of renters were satisfied with their 'home'.

A trade body claims the English Housing Survey certainly does away with the view that renting does not create a 'safe' lifestyle for tenants. The body backed its claim by quoting findings that found 72% of renters who had stayed in an accommodation for under three years, had moved to another home through choice and not because of being evicted by their landlord.

The most common reasons for tenants who had moved in the past three years were, job related - 18% - finding a better area to live in -16% - upsizing to a bigger home- 13%.


News Archive »