With so much focus on the costs of getting on to the first rung of the property ladder, the challenges facing those simply trying to get into the renting market are often overlooked. However, for young people unable to call on family or friends to front up the significant costs of moving into a rented property, the options are limited.

For those straight out of education, it can be the biggest financial outlay they have had to face. A deposit of up to two months’ rent, plus letting fees, plus the first month’s rent, can add up to thousands of pounds.

There is some good news on the way for people in this position – but not until next year. The government is banning letting agent fees paid by tenants, while the draft tenant fees bill also sets a cap on tenancy deposits at a maximum of six weeks’ rent.

But the government has revealed it doesn’t expect the ban to come into force until “after spring 2019”, which is later than many people expected. Presumably, that is when the cap on deposits also takes effect.

Meanwhile, some are disappointed that the original proposal to cap deposits at no more than one month’s rent was ditched.

Seb Klier, at campaign group Generation Rent, says: “The government has recognised that a cap on rental deposits is important, but set it too high. Even a month is unaffordable if you don’t have any support structure outside.”

According to the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, the average deposit in England and Wales is £1,041, while deposits in London are typically in the region of £1,750. Latest figures show that almost 47% of deposits were one month’s rent. However, more than 40% were for more.

If the bank of mum and dad isn’t able to help, many new renters are effectively faced with three options: put any immediate plans on hold until enough savings have been amassed; go (even more) into the red via an overdraft; or turn to credit cards.

Sarah Murphy, 22, says she was fortunate to be able to move home to Gloucestershire after she graduated. She had no savings or support to immediately cover the costs associated with renting.

Through working various jobs, she saved up more than £1,000 before moving to London to start a traineeship at a publishing company.

“Aside from university, the deposit is by far the largest amount I’ve ever shelled out for anything,” she says.

The financial burden did not end there: she had to go into her overdraft to cover the other fees associated with moving, which would have been impossible had she not saved up.

“Paying these bills was stressful enough, so I can’t imagine what I would have done if I hadn’t had those savings.”

Mali Lewis: ‘It’s a lot of money to pay all in one go.’

Mali Lewis (pictured), 24, spread the cost of a deposit for her flat in Birmingham across two credit cards, which she says has been a worry, but she is set to pay off what she owes soon.

In the past, Lewis had gone into her overdraft to cover the deposit and tenancy fees for her student accommodation in Leeds.

“My circumstances at the time made it unavoidable. The deposit, first month’s rent and tenancy fees amounted to nearly £2,000. It’s a lot of money to pay all in one go, and very difficult to manage.”

It emerged last year that one leading private landlord was scrapping rental deposits and even returning money to its 3,000 existing tenants.

Get Living owns and rents out more than 1,400 homes in East Village – the former London 2012 athletes’ village on the doorstep of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, east London. It said that, as of last June, new renters who passed reference checks, or had a guarantor, would not have to pay a deposit.

The company said at the time that its average deduction from deposits was just a few days’ rent, with the majority of residents getting their money returned in full.

“We have great relationships with our residents and, given they are taking such good care of our homes, why should we hold six weeks’ rent?” it adds.

The government says the letting fees ban will come into force “once our proposals have been fully scrutinised by parliament and stakeholders”.

The Department for Communities and Local Government says: “This government is determined to make sure the housing market works for everyone. That’s why we’re delivering on our promise to ban tenant fees, alongside other measures, to make renting fairer and increase protection for people in the private rented sector.”

The ban – when it finally arrives – could have a big impact on many people’s finances. Renters currently pay an average £200-£300 in letting fees per tenancy, though for many it is significantly more, says the government.

Generation Rent found that the typical two-adult household is paying an average of £404 every time they move, with fees ranging from £40 to £813. Meanwhile, Shelter found that one in seven tenants pay more than £500.