Nearly two thirds of all landlords (63%) and nearly half of all tenants are now believed to understand the mandatory requirements to protect deposits and provide for dispute resolution, says the Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

The improvement is demonstrated in results from separate surveys carried out among both letting agents and landlords during August. Letting agents believe there is still a long way to go to educate the private rented sector and that only two thirds of all landlords and less than half of all tenants understand it. Previously 54.5% of landlords and only a third of tenants understood the requirements.

The results from the survey of landlords were more optimistic, suggesting that 90% are now fully aware of their mandatory obligations. These requirements became law last April.

Lawrence Greenberg, chief executive of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, said: “Although many tenancies are arranged for an initial six-month period, industry figures show that the average length of tenancies is now 18 months. The outcome from this would be a more gradual build-up in demand for dispute resolutions.”