Nearly 200,000 private renters haven’t had their tenancy deposits protected under an authorised scheme, according to new government data.

Its latest English Housing Survey for 2022/23 shows that 77% of privately renting households paid a deposit when they started their current tenancy, 81% of whom had this protected under a scheme, while 6% (194,000) said it wasn’t protected and 13% (467,000) were unsure.

The annual survey reveals that 19% of all households rent privately (4.6 million), spending an average of four years at each property, and that 229,000 (5%) have been in arrears either currently or over the past year, while 1.2 million (29%) had found it difficult to pay their rent.

In 2022-23, most private renters (63%, 424,000 households) who had moved in the last 12 months decided to end their tenancy out of choice, or because the tenancy was for a fixed period (19%) or had ended by mutual agreement (10%). Only 9% were asked to leave by their landlord or agent.

Costs

Private renters had higher weekly housing costs than social renters or homeowners, on average spending 32% of their income on rent when housing support was included in household income, compared to 37% when it was excluded. Just under one in four (24%) private renters received housing support.

They were also more likely than any other tenure to have poor-quality housing; just over a fifth (21%) lived in a non-decent home, 12% had a home with Category 1 hazards and 10% lived in a home with damp. The government reports that on average, it would cost £9,234 to bring a non-decent home up to standard.

By 2022, less than half of private rented homes (45%) were in EPC bands A to C. Across all tenures, the cost of improving homes to a band C was under £10,000 for the majority; 45% would cost £5,000 to £9,999, 25% would cost £1,000 to £4,999, and 5% had an estimated cost of less than £1,000.