Renting: Three ways to win the race to securing a property

Trying to find a spot to rent successful today's marketplace and beating your competitors to the beforehand doorway tin consciousness similar a relentless contention that you'll ne'er win.

Property website Zoopla says the fig of disposable properties to rent is down by a 3rd since earlier the pandemic.

So with specified ferocious demand, what tin you bash to unafraid your caller home?

Most radical cognize the value of having a decent recognition standing and their deposit secured.

But however bash you debar the bidding wars and monolithic queues connected "open home" time and get a landlord to prime you and not idiosyncratic else?

If you're caller to the rental race, we've asked agents and landlords to archer america impressed them astir and made those hunting for a rental basal retired from the crowd.

Rightmove said astatine the opening of 2023, 70% of rental listings received an email enquiry from a imaginable tenant looking to presumption a spot wrong the archetypal time of it being listed connected the website.

Its spot adept Tim Bannister said: "Tenants request to bash their homework and determine what they truly privation from a location truthful they tin beryllium targeted - online, with agents, friends and family.

"Then erstwhile instant alerts travel done they tin determination rapidly and get to the beforehand of the queue. Be focussed and beryllium prepared. Being archetypal won't needfully warrant you the spot but it volition help."

Campaign radical Generation Rent agreed. Spokesman Dan Wilson Craw said it was indispensable to cognize what the spot needs to have, specified arsenic retention for a motorcycle oregon a washing instrumentality already installed.

"That mode if you presumption a spot that ticks each the close boxes you tin use for a tenancy connected the spot," helium said.

Being loaded with accusation truly helps landlords and agents erstwhile looking to take a tenant.

Rightmove's Tim Bannister said: "That means making definite you've got arsenic overmuch accusation arsenic possible, for illustration aggregate references with contacts available.

"Be wide astir your circumstances and however flexible you tin beryllium with your timelines. Be upfront and supply clarity. The much you tin bash to enactment with a landlord, the better."

Generation Rent said speech from having the holding deposit worthy 1 week's rent successful your account, prospective tenants needed to supply grounds of their income.

That includes letting your leader and existent landlord cognize they'll request to supply a reference.

If you person exhausted your clip trying to find a rental successful your cleanable country effort reasoning extracurricular the box. Zoopla said a travel clip search tin bring much properties into your orbit which you mightiness not person considered.

Geographically, a location whitethorn look excessively acold distant but its question clip mightiness beryllium quicker than you thought. This tin can unfastened up your hunt to cheaper areas oregon slower rental markets.

Mr Bannister said rental searches connected Rightmove had expanded since the pandemic with galore approaching the size of Manhattan successful New York, astir 50km2 (19.3m2).

Victoria Tolmie-Loverseed helps students find accommodation with Unipol, a foundation based successful Bradford, Leeds and Nottingham.

A rising pupil colonisation not matched by an accrued proviso of lodging has resulted successful a situation for young radical often surviving distant from location for the archetypal time.

"Be flexible astir wherever you're consenting to live, formed your nett wider into non-student areas and beryllium consenting to question a small spot further," Ms Tolmie-Loverseed said.

"Know your budget, person your deposit sorted, cognize who your guarantor volition be," she added.