The average tenancy in England and Wales now lasts more than 1,000 days, almost 40% longer in properties compared with four years ago, according to Deposit Protection Service (The DPS).
The UK’s largest protector of deposits says that renters are spending an average 1,085 days – equating to nearly three years – in a property as of April 2025. The organisation said this was 179 days or 19.75 percentage points more compared with the average for the whole of 2024 (906 days).
The organisation added that renters are now staying almost 37.25% longer in properties (1,085 days) compared with 2021 (773 days).
Matt Trevett, managing director at The DPS said: “The average tenancy increased during the pandemic, largely because of emergency restrictions on moving.
“Our data show a year-on-year increase in the average number of days our tenant customers spend in a property since February 2022, when those restrictions ended.
“Difficulties in securing rentals and the prospect of paying higher rents for a new property mean that many tenants are staying put for much longer.”
The company’s figures further show that average rental deposits – which rise and fall with rents – also increased, from £948.88 in 2022 to £1,170.63 up to May this year.
The DPS said this data suggest that average rents have increased by a corresponding 23.36 percentage points during the same period.
