BRISTOL, 31 July 2025 – Rental deposits protected within Government authorised schemes increased by around 82,000 during the last 12 months, according to a report by The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS).
The largest protector of deposits across England and Wales said it was the second time in eight years that the increase in scheme-protected tenancies was below 100,000.
By comparison, 2017 saw an increase of 270,000 deposits, said the organisation.
Its report, The Private Rented Sector Review, analysed official data, research the organisation undertook last year, as well as separate DPS surveys of around 1,100 landlords and 1,200 tenants in March across England and Wales.
Matt Trevett, Managing Director at The DPS said: “Whilst the overall proportion of the population housed in the private rented sector (PRS) has remained static for the past decade, our report reveals a number of ongoing, significant trends inside it.
“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.
“Our research also shows that 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.”
Tenants
Despite 36% of tenant respondents saying they would have liked to have moved during the last 12 months, just half (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%.
- 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).
Landlords
For landlords respondents:
- More than half (52%) are considering selling some or all of their portfolio (up 5 percentage points from October 2024).
- 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.
- 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