The proportion of income that tenants spent on rent decreased between 2016 and 2019 despite increases in rental levels, according to The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS).

In the latest edition of its Rent Index, the largest protector of deposits in the UK compares rent levels across the country with averages salaries and reveals that the average proportion of wages spent on rent fell from 32.64% in 2016 to 30.64% in 2019.

The DPS said that various factors had helped improve the affordability of renting during the period, including a 2.69% increase in average salary (from £29,559 to £30,353) and a £77 decrease in average tenancy deposits (from £905 to £828) since the introduction of the deposit cap in June last year.

Matt Trevett, managing director at The DPS, said: “Although rents have risen over the past decade, other changes since 2016 have helped ensure renting has become on average more affordable. Predictions that rents would rise in response to the introduction of the tenant fees ban and deposit cap, do not seem to have materialised with many landlords seemingly declining to increase rents since last summer.”