to think trying to rent anywhere atm is a nightmare?

[houserentalhell]

I really don't think I am BU, am at the end of my tether tbh!

We've been trying to find a bigger property for the last 2-3 months. I'm now checking/ refreshing Rightmove every hour to see if anything new has come on, checking Open Rent a few times a day (currently only 3 properties within a 20 mile radius on Open Rent so not worth checking more often).

About once a day a possibly suitable house comes up on Rightmove. So I call Letting Agent immediately to try to get a viewing (as you can't apply for anything without viewing first).

Some the viewings have already 'closed' - 5 mins after it goes on Rightmove! Or they want to do pre-viewing vetting, which we may or may not pass.

Assuming we make it past that hurdle, we then arrange and attend viewing. Typically in a procession of 10-15 other couples . Tha can be up to an hour out of your day.

What comes next? An application form of anything up to 15 pages. Copies of driving licence, passports, utility bills, 3-6 months payslips, literally the entire kitchen sink. This can take maybe an hour each time. Possibly also a Zoom or Skype call with the agent so they can 'validate' your identity.

And you're competing against those other 10 people, so it's no surprise when a week later you get a call saying I'm sorry you've not made it to the next round of reference checks and application fee.

So then it's back to more viewings, more time to attend these and do the applications and all for no real benefit. And trying to attend 3-5 viewings and complete full applications each week is becoming a job in itself.

We're completely disheartened by this, if we're competing against 10 or more for every property how will we ever find anything? Tempted to give up and try in the New Year but not convinced it will be any different then, this just seems to be how it is now (was a different story when we last moved pre Covid).

If you're self-employed, what do you have to show the landlord as evidence of your income? I would hate to show anyone my bank statements. Can you redact certain info on them?

I think so many landlords are now just selling property that it’s going to become a bigger and bigger problem. Renters are being told to stay in place until a section 21 is issued meaning landlords can have people in their property for over a year without paying rent and being unable to remove them. Add in the fact that property prices are soaring, it’s not surprising that there’s a shortage

If you're self-employed, what do you have to show the landlord as evidence of your income? I would hate to show anyone my bank statements. Can you redact certain info on them?

Not much use right now, but I strongly suggest having a separate bank account (just a personal one is fine, but not your main day to day current account) for your self employment income and expenses. Makes things like this easier but also doing your accounts too.

@Potatofacey we're looking in a similar area. We could probably do 12 months up front if it came to it, have offered 6 but that doesn't seem to hold any sway. That said I keep reading on threads like this that some landlords think paying 6 or more months up front is dodgy - you can't win!

Crossing our fingers something comes up eventually.

I feel your pain, I've been in a rental property for several years quite happy then got a call out the blue saying the owners want their house back, nothing in the area I wanted to stay in so had to look in another area, houses going as quickly as they come on and like you say you get an short interview by the agent then they go back to the owner with all the other applications before they select, some people are offering without seeing the property just to get a chance.
I'm now in the process of getting checked for a property I've found, my advice is to stay with an agent that knows you if possible, keep calling them, don't wait for them to call back as they won't, pester a lot.

@houserentalhell I don't blame you, I'd love to have more space for WFH too and would be doing the exact same thing in your position.

It's just a shame that housing stock is so shit. It shouldn't be allowed to be called a bedroom if you can't fit a standard single bed and wardrobe/chest of drawers but these tiny new builds are doing just that making it impossible for families to find adequate space...that's as a renter or buyer from what I've seen!

@solarsky we're lucky in that we're moving through choice, but it's still a rubbish process either way. There seem to be so many different estate agents covering the area we're looking in (15 at least) that it's hard to build up a rapport - but will work on it.

@GivenUpEntirely we've seen this with a lot of the new builds, the actual square footage is about the same as our current place, but they've squeezed another bedroom in, so if anything it feels smaller. Just rejected one where the main bedroom was just about big enough for a double bed and wardrobe, and the other 2 bedrooms were both a maximum of 8 x 6.

My daughter, who had been trying to rent , for ages, kept losing out to higher bidders.
In one case someone bid for more than double the asking rental.

I had no idea that this was even a thing.

@DroopyClematis yes I never knew this was a thing until recently - when we go to viewings now DP and I try and spot the rich looking people who are likely to offer over the odds. Thus far unfortunately most viewers look richer than us and have better cars.

Actually that reminds me - one agent in their application wanted our car reg numbers! Still not sure what the purpose of that was, but as we didn't get the house clearly our 5+ year old cars didn't fit the bill.

Of course it’s legal, landlords can let to whoever they like.

It’s surprising that you’re struggling quite so much to get somewhere, you sound like ideal tenants.

We are currently trying to rent and absolutely nothing. Everything goes and we are bottom of anyone’s list with two cats. I currently have a one bedroom flat but with a new baby on the way and DPs daughter we need a house immediately 😞

The law changed back again last week to letting LLs give you two months notice to move as well. This is going to be painful for anyone evicted now.. finding a new places in two months with Xmas around the corner as well.

I think one thing that may not help us is that DP is director of (his own) limited company, he has a couple of junior staff, receives a monthly salary and has payslips etc showing what he receives but some agents get very confused when they ask for his manager's details or the HR contact and obviously there isn't one.

I really feel for you. When we were renting we used to have this. What worked for us was registering and letting them know what we were interested in. Then just phoning regularly to see what was about to go on the website. We felt like we were being annoying but at the end of the day, the letting agent is getting their commission so they don’t care 🤷‍♀️

It really sucks to have to think this way, but with competition so fierce it's all about 'selling yourselves'
Think about the kinds of things you do when you apply for a job, to make yourself look amazing -- you need to do the same with agents and landlords

That's why I suggested being proactive and putting together an application package, with lots of information about yourselves to look like the perfect tenants -- because it really sounds like you are, so you need to make it really obvious

It can be really hard to build up a rapport with estate agents whereas they'll see right away that you're good tenants on paper

The rental situation is spiralling out of control yet there seems to be no one , in government, who is even remotely interested in this issue.
Some MPs are saying odd mutterings but the dire rental property issue won’t get resolved as it’s all ‘private business’ therefore not the government’s concern.

It’s absolutely staggering that so many are forced to pay un-cappable ( is that a word?) rents that far outweigh a mortgage repayment yet are not eligible for a mortgage.

This will only get worse and will further divide the ‘haves’ from the ‘have nots.’

OP I'm sorry if I'm suggesting something obvious that you've already done, but as a pp said about social media. You might not have anything 'bad' on yours but have you checked what comes up when you Google your names? Just on the off chance there's someone with the same name in or near your area.

Many LL'S nearby have sold up or are renting as holiday or Airbnb. Rents have really increased. Many of those desperately trying to find accommodation are also facing additional rent costs as well. I think it's a country wide situation

If I didn't have to move I'd wait until after Christmas, lots of people are feeling under pressure to be settled in by Christmas.

Is why it's very bad and cruel and irresponsible to trick women into leaving domestic violence. Cos what then happened is councils saying to find somewhere new to rent. Am disability benefits nowhere takes you. People going to maybe say statutory duty of councils to house domestic violence but problem is they break law and get away with it unless you have good domestic abuse advocate. Is lottery if you get good one. Solicitors no good cos loads say they full up capacity as soon as they hear you legal aid. So with private renting so hard is big reason why women go back to abuser and don't leave and why there is murders.

It's absolutely the same here OP in Blackpool, believe it or not. It's awful.

I've been looking for a while as I need a slightly bigger place but literally like 3 houses a day come up on rightmove. And I've given up on OpenRent as they've had the same few houses listed for months and months.

When a property does come up, you can see prices have risen astromnoically too.

I've given up looking now tbh and just resigned myself to being stick where I am. It's hopeless.

YANBU. We had the same problem in the north west. Our landlord decided to sell so we had to move. Anything decent would get snapped up the day it went on Rightmove or you had to apply for a short list and if couldn't make the 3pm on a Wednesday afternoon viewing because you were at work then too bad, someone else would get it.
The only way we got somewhere ok (but not perfect) was being absolutely ruthless on Rightmove and calling the minute a property became available and paying 12 month's rent up front.
The annoying thing is that the house we moved out of is sitting empty and hasn't been put up for sale yet. We moved out nearly three months ago!

[quote Flowerlane]@tiutinkerbell not in Essex area are you? we have 3 weeks to find somewhere! 😩[/quote]
Unforts not - I am in the Midlands! Hope you find somewhere soon though!

@tulippa

YANBU. We had the same problem in the north west. Our landlord decided to sell so we had to move. Anything decent would get snapped up the day it went on Rightmove or you had to apply for a short list and if couldn't make the 3pm on a Wednesday afternoon viewing because you were at work then too bad, someone else would get it. The only way we got somewhere ok (but not perfect) was being absolutely ruthless on Rightmove and calling the minute a property became available and paying 12 month's rent up front. The annoying thing is that the house we moved out of is sitting empty and hasn't been put up for sale yet. We moved out nearly three months ago!

Our old home is just sitting empty too 4 months on. It's absolutely infuriating because we twisted ourselves in knots trying to secure somewhere new to live (at a much higher price) before the section 21 ran out and the old landlord hasn't done a single thing to the place. Not advertised for sale, not advertised to rent again, not moved in himself, not refreshed the walls etc. Nothing!