The latest rental market insight from Zero Deposit reveals that 73% of tenants feel heightened financial pressure during the festive period, as the cost of living combined with seasonal spending weighs heavily on household budgets.
A survey commissioned by Zero Deposit found that 65% of tenants struggle with the cost of living after covering rent and essential outgoings like utility bills. This pressure is exacerbated during Christmas due to additional costs such as gifts, food, drink, and social occasions.
Analysis by Zero Deposit highlights the financial challenges renters face. The average monthly rent in England is £1,348, with an additional £415 typically spent on council tax, utilities, and broadband. Combined, these costs consume 67% of the average tenant’s monthly net income of £2,634, leaving limited room for discretionary spending.
No surprise then that 74% of renters surveyed struggle to afford non-essential expenses such as leisure activities and social events. During the festive season, when spending typically increases, 73% feel an amplified sense of financial pressure.
When asked about the main sources of this festive strain, purchasing gifts for friends and family topped the list, followed by increased spending on food and drink and the costs associated with a busier social calendar. As a result, 66% of tenants plan to cut back on Christmas spending this year, with social occasions cited as the most likely area to save.
Sam Reynolds, CEO of Zero Deposit, said: “The rental market can be a tough place to be at the best of times, let alone during Christmas, with tenants required to pay a significant chunk of their monthly earnings simply to cover the costs associated with a rental home.
However, this financial pressure can be heightened considerably over the festive period, as the costs associated with visiting loved ones, purchasing gifts, food and drink all start to mount up.
Unfortunately, there’s no quick fix and the market imbalance between supply and demand has continued to push the cost of renting up over the last year. Rather than encourage more landlords to the sector to help ease the current rental crisis, the government has remained consistently intent on deterring them via a raft of legislative changes in recent years.
Of course, Labour’s pledge to deliver 1.5 million new homes could help to ease the current rental crisis, but that’s only if the government actually delivers, and history has shown us that housebuilding targets are rarely fulfilled.
This trend looks set to continue in 2025 and so whilst this Christmas may be looking bleak for many tenants across the rental market, it could well get worse come this time next year.”
