Official figures and the rules that protect you by law — instead of numbers from somebody else’s experience five years ago.
ONS data for July 2026: London £2,317, England £1,451, the UK £1,393. That is the average across all private rentals, rooms and studios included.
Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 — five weeks’ rent where annual rent is under £50,000, six weeks between £50,000 and £100,000. Asking for three months is unlawful.
The holding deposit that takes the property off the market is held for 15 days unless another period is agreed in writing.
The deposit goes into a government-backed scheme and the landlord must tell you which one. At the end it is returned within 10 days of the amount being agreed.
The tenancy agreement, reference checks, guarantor services, contents insurance and the inventory are the landlord’s costs, not yours.
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