Deposit Alternative service predicts student rental rush

Deposit alternative supplier flatfair says it’s seen a 30% year-on-year increase in No Deposit tenancies.

It also claims 14% more landlords are using its No Deposit product compared to the same time last year.

Throughout May the company states the average flatfair tenant saved £1,243 on up-front moving costs because instead of the traditional deposit of up to five weeks’ rent, it charges a fee of a week’s rent plus VAT.

“At a time when tenants continue to suffer financial hardship because of the cost of living crisis, this considerable saving on upfront moving costs is proving increasingly popular to tenants and to letting agents” says Gary Wright, chief executive officer of flatfair.

Wright says that a letting agent recently processed 170 student tenancies using flatfair Deposits, enjoying “significant time savings in administration tasks and improved compliance.”

The Tenancy Deposit Scheme cites the 2023 National Student Accommodation Survey, which suggests thgat students are increasingly moving into the Private Rented Sector because of the higher cost of living in university halls of residence.

Over the next few months, hundreds of thousands of students across the country will be on the move before the start of the new academic year” adds Wright.

“Rented homes are in short supply and this sudden mass movement puts huge pressure on the system in university towns all over Britain. Most of these hard-pressed renters will be wanting to keep their moving costs as low as possible and the agents they deal with will want to process their tenancies as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

“Until the supply of rented accommodation can be significantly increased, the solution we offer is an automated service which eases the burden on agents and massively cuts the upfront move-in costs for the tenants.”