A new tenant survey has revealed that six out of every ten respondents who have moved within the last year said they paid between two and three months’ rent upfront to secure their property.

The survey of 2,210 tenants carried out by The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS) also revealed that 8% had paid between four and six months’ rent upfront with 5% saying they’d paid between nine and 12 months’ in advance.

Matt Trevett, MD at The DPS, said: “Our latest research shows how significant proportions of prospective tenants are providing rent upfront to landlords or letting agents.

“Tenants paying rents upfront should ask their landlords what impact this will have on their rental payments: typically a landlord or letting agent who asks this does not charge for the equivalent amount towards the end of the tenancy, but tenants should always double check this is the case.

“Landlord and lettings agents should make it clear that tenants’ deposits, protected with independent third-party deposit scheme such as The DPS, are separate.”

The survey also revealed that, to differentiate themselves from other prospective tenants, almost one in four (23%) of respondents provided evidence of their income.

In addition:

16% had provided references from a previous employer

15% had provided a testimonial from a previous landlord

13% had shared details of their rental history

9% had offered details about a guarantor

4% had provided biographical information

2% had provided pictures of their current property 1% had provided images of themselves, family members, or pets

The survey revealed that 32% of respondents moved either within the last six or 12 months.

Separate data provided by Rightmove this week, based on millions of local data points across more than 250 local authorities, found that letting agents are currently receiving up to 54 enquiries for every rental home that comes onto the market.

Rightmove’s Tim Bannister said: “To be receiving upwards of 50 enquiries per available rental property in some local areas is an astonishing figure, which goes to show the significant amount of work still to be done to improve the balance of supply and demand across different areas of Great Britain.”

Britain’s busiest rental market revealed with 50-plus enquiries per property