Private renting preferred

Need my own place to finally call my own after going through quite a lot for some years now and now I'm finally turning my life around for the better so I'm trying to go private rental which I could afford but I will struggle with deposit unless I could pay deposit in 2 different payments if anyone out there would be kind enough to help me. I've had terrible experiences in shared accommodation and also I have a PAST history with drug abuse but no longer do so I would prefer to stay away from other users/addicts that usually come with shared properties unfortunately.