The number of deposit disputes between landlords and tenants are at their highest since 2007, according to the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS).
In a report, TDS says that in the nine years to March, there were nearly 173,000 tenancy deposit disputes.
There are three tenancy deposit schemes currently in England and Wales, and in the past year they have resolved 28,100 disputes which is also a record high figure.
However, this represents less than 1% of the total amount of deposits held and the figure has remained steady over the last six years.
Number one reason for tenancy deposit disputes
The number one reason for tenancy deposit disputes is cleaning with buy to let landlords increasingly facing filthy properties when tenants move out.
Indeed, cleaning accounts for 57% of disputes recorded by TDS, with the next most common accounting for 51% of complaints is damage caused by tenants to fittings and fixtures.
Landlords also had issues in 32% of complaints with redecoration, rent arrears accounted for 19% while 16% of disputes are for gardening issues.
The TDS report also reveals that the average deposit being disputed amounted to £863 and of the disputes, 45.5% of the deposit was returned to tenants with the balance being handed to letting agents and landlords.
Rental property demand remains high
Meanwhile, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) says that demand for private rented properties in the UK increased in August.
The Association reports that with each ARLA branch there were 37 prospective tenants registered which shows there's been a bounce back after July's slight fall.
ARLA also says that growing numbers of tenants are negotiating a lower rent on new tenancies with around 3% of those tenants being successful in August while in July just 2.1% succeeded in a lower rent.
Little impact on the UK's private rented sector
The organisation also says that Brexit appears to have had little impact on the UK's private rented sector and over the past month there has been no changes reported in rent prices or in the supply or demand of rental properties.
ARLA's managing director, David Cox, said: “Our findings show the market is in good shape and we aren't seeing anything on demand or supply that's out of the ordinary and while demand is high it is being matched with volumes of rental properties.
“More tenants are managing to negotiate successfully a rent reduction and landlords and agents appear to be responding well to this. The rising cost of renting is an ongoing issue, especially in major cities, but the lettings market is promising.”
