The cost of raising a deposit to rent a home is set to balloon for Britons in the coming decade, a report warns.
The average rental deposit required is expected to grow by around 40% by 2026, to hit £1,111, according to figures compiled by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr).The projected increase is around twice the rate of expected growth in the average monthly salary, at 20%.
Tenants may increasingly find that the struggle to get a rental home presents similar cost challenges to buying a property, according to the findings.
The cost of a deposit would swallow up around 70% of typical monthly earnings, according to the figures compiled for financial comparison website money.co.uk.
In London, Cebr predicts the average rental deposit will be £2,733 by 2026, equating to more than a month's salary, at 120%.
Landlords have traditionally asked for four weeks' rent as a deposit. But the report estimates that based on recent trends, with people increasingly seeing renting as a long-term option, by 2026 more than two-thirds (68%) of deposits requested will be at least six weeks' rent.
The average rental deposits and the percentage of monthly earnings these will take up in 2026, according to Cebr:
North East, £795, 55%a
North West, £808, 56%
Yorkshire and the Humber, £797, 55%
East Midlands, £842, 56%
West Midlands, £857, 59%
East, £1,097, 71%
London, £2,733, 120%
South East, £1,469, 83%
South West, £1,149, 80%
Wales, £731, 51%
Scotland, £947, 60%
By Vicky Shaw, Press Association
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here