Better relationships result in fewer end-of-tenancy clashes

The number of tenancy disputes dropped last year despite a growth in the amount held in UK deposit protection schemes.

The average amount disputed fell from £793 to £784 in 2021, while the total number of disputes also fell by 12% to 34,444 in 2021. According to mydeposits, more than 4.5m tenancy deposits are protected across the rental market, up 2.3% on the previous year. It reports that at an average of £1,005 per tenancy, £4.6 billion is now held in protection schemes, up 1.1% on the previous year, meaning that the number of disputes as a percentage of all deposits has fallen from 0.9% to 0.8%.

Contentious cleaning

Although only a small number of tenants disputed the deductions made to their tenancy deposit, mydeposits estimates that the total value of rental deposit disputes was almost £27 million in 2021. Cleaning was by far the most contentious issue between landlords and tenants, with damages to the property, redecoration costs, gardening and rent arrears also ranking highly. 

mydeposits CEO Eddie Hooker says: “The good news is that deposit deduction disputes are actually few and far between and account for less than 1% of all deposits held within authorised protection schemes.”

Tenancy length

He adds: “We’ve also seen a reduction in total disputes lodged, which suggest the rental sector has become a more harmonious place over the last year, or that tenancies post-pandemic are increasing in length, resulting in less end of tenancy issues. Either way, it looks as though the sector is heading in the right direction where tenant-landlord relationships are concerned.”

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