Rental Market in Belfast

[NewHorizons20]

Hi there,

My family and I are relocating to Belfast from London and we have been searching for a house to rent in Belfast but are having a bit of a nightmare with it so I thought I'd check in to see if anyone had any advice or if anyone experienced something similar in their search.

Viewings in person are tricky as they are generally open viewings arranged at short notice and as demand is high, viewings can sometimes get cancelled at short notice so we don't want to waste time flying back and forth for numerous viewings. We have a family member who has agreed to do viewings on our behalf but it is an hour journey each way to and from Belfast. Ideally we would like to be able to arrange a few viewings in the one day to avoid multiple trips for our family but this doesn't seem possible.

We have also asked if we can do virtual viewings but nobody seems to offer this and says they want to see applicants in person.

We have even tried applying based on the photos or videos already shown online and are willing to put down a few months rent upfront if it helps our case but we get told we have to view the property in person before we can apply. We applied for a house the other day and we ticked all the boxes and sent the application straight after the first viewing but the landlord went with another applicant instead. It is just so frustrating and feeling impossible at this stage and we don't know what to do as our daughter is due to start school in Belfast in September but she can't without a Northern Irish address.

Is it just a busy time of year or is it always like this? Any advice or insight would be most welcome.

Sorry to vent and thank you if you've read to the end!

Does your child already have a school place for September? Many schools in Belfast are oversubscribed so it sounds like a tricky situation if she's due to start school in September it you're not yet living in NI?

@confusedlots
Yes she has a provisional place pending us securing an address in Northern Ireland. Luckily we do not need to live in the catchment area but we are still finding it tricky to find anywhere. We are thinking a short 6 month let may be an idea if it is just that now is a busy time to find properties however I'm not sure where to begin looking. Airbnb keeps coming up when I do a search but these rentals are crazy money! We may need to look further afield and commute back and forth for a while until we can find something closer, I really don't know.

It's a landlords market for sure. Whereabouts are you looking?

It's not just the time of year, it's very difficult to get a rental property at any time of the year. If we knew which area it would help. I think you'll also struggle to find a 6 month rental. My advice would be for one of you to come over for 1 week, book yourself in for as many viewings and open viewings as you can, and get your name down immediately for any which are suitable.

I'd also suggest - although you've probably done this already - really getting to know one or two agents in the area you are looking in to get them on your side.

Definitely get to know the agents - NI really does have a small town mentality and personal connections are key. The rental market in NI is hard though - there just isn’t the stock. When we moved here we were lucky with an agent that they let us fill out the forms in advance and as it was done on a first come, first served basis, and we were the first through the door, by having the forms pre-filled, we were able to drive straight to the estate agents after leaving the property and had the forms submitted and deposit paid before the second viewer had even finished his viewing.

If you could share what school your DD has a place in then people might be able to suggest areas which are easy to travel to/from. (My DC are all at schools in Belfast but we live in Bangor)

We are looking in South Belfast or slightly East. The school is in the Rosetta/Knockbreda area. We have a car but it would be good to be close enough to be able to get a bus if necessary.

So around upper Ormeau / Rosetta?

Around Wynchurch would be good.

Yes I think you're right about one of us needing to come over for a week and just do as many viewings as possible in that week. It seems that the agents be more willing to help people if they've met you in person. Thanks so much for the advice 😊

Yes exactly that kind of area. Although it depends what is on the market so I'm aware we can't afford to be too fussy! We did see some around Glendale Avenue North/East. Had someone view on our behalf, got our application in straight after but the landlord still chose to go with someone else, not sure why, maybe they can choose and it's not first come first served with all agencies

Thanks for the advice. Do you remember which agent that was who operated on a first come first served basis? If we could find one like that we might stand half a chance. Bennetts advised us to fill our application in advance but we still had no luck unfortunately so seems the landlord was able to choose. I'm not sure if we're doing something wrong or landlords are wary because we're moving from London and we're keeping our jobs here (but able to work remotely from Belfast so it won't be an issue) or some other reason.

Also what is with the ridiculously long application forms and treating all tenants like students (guarantors etc), it's definitely a totally different ball game to London! It's all just a bit overwhelming 😫

Most landlords want to meet prospective tenants face to face, letting property is a risky business, I really think you need to be at the viewings in person, unfortunately

It was the Independent. They are Bangor based - not sure if they do much outside of the North Down area. (They’re actually chancers and not a great agency to work with, but in this instance the women in the office were fab)

The rental market is just mad and particularly in south Belfast. The reality is you need to be here to do the viewings and make the applications.
There is just so much demand that there isn't really any other way unfortunately!
Make sure you're signed up to PropertyPal and Property News alerts - there was a big issue with property pal a few months ago and not all agents are listing all their properties on it so keep an eye on agents' sites as well.
Good luck!

@NewHorizons20 it's a great area, that's where we used to live and my DD went to a wonderful preschool in Knockbreda before we moved out of Belfast. Get yourself a good named contact in the local estate agents. I'd recommend Michael Chandlers for that area.

Some good advice above.

I posted recently about buying in Belfast, where many of the same rules apply. It is mad. Come over for a week, see every property you can, get to know the agents (when phoning up ask the name of the person you are speaking to and note it down. Explain to them who you are, why you are really good prospective tenants, ask their advice and hope to be remembered. Not least you then know who the professional agents are, some who specialise in student lets are hopeless), spread the word as in ask future work colleagues and anyone else including here, then go in with a high offer immediately on anything that you see that works for you. .

DD was persuaded by a University friend from Belfast to apply for a job. She got the job and loves the city. Last summer the friend was supposed to go over early and find a flat for them to rent, and was completely taken by surprised by how mad the market was. You needed to be absolutely determined, view everything immediately and expect to narrowly miss on several (with no real idea why - except it is a city where everyone seems to know everyone so outsiders can be at a disadvantage). They were getting nowhere so the extended family stepped in and they ended up renting privately from a distant connection. DD does not know what the future holds, though ideally she will stay, but one reason for her decision to buy was her flatmate is being transferred elsewhere and she could not face the rental market again.

In some ways it was a bit like London where you buy/rent two tube stops beyond where you would like to live but can't afford. Look beyond your target area and decide where you can find something suitable even if it means overpaying.

For me (I did the first viewings as DD could not take leave) it was really useful that she had informed advice from colleagues. I would send her links to properties and they would either be very positive, very negative or neutral. The neutral were parts of South Belfast that may once have been seen as sectarian but which are becoming more mixed. And indeed DD has seen quite a change in the area she was first renting, even within a year. Local advice is important. I got quite excited about a couple of properties that seemed excellent value and which were only a few streets away from areas DD liked, only to get a hard no from her advisory panel of colleagues.

Thank you. Yes I've noticed Michael Chandler do seem to have some nuce properties in this area. I will be sure to visit them when I make the trip over.

Thank you so much for the good advice and insight into your own experience. It is frustrating but reassuring to hear it is not just us going through this. Sounds like it will be tough but I'll pop over for a week and give it my all! I'll also ask around to see if anyone I know may have any connections which may help.

I really appreciate you all taking the time to respond and offer your advice, it is very kind of you all. Thank you x

In your shoes I would go for a period of time and organise in advance with an EA or several so they can help you find somewhere. I’d probably try and rent an air b n b for a few weeks and go over and try and organise it in one go. I’d call all the EAs ahead and send over our information and application stuff and explain we are on a tight schedule and prepared to pay XX upfront when we find the right place. Best of luck.. sounds tricky!!! x

Everything is moving so fast that I would use Property Pal. (Agents apparently won their battle and are using it again.) Though walking into agents and chatting about what they had led to a couple of suggestions I had not thought about, and I also spotted a couple of signs when out and about.

I got off the plane to find that three viewings I had arranged were cancelled as sales had been agreed. Property Pal has a map view which I used to make sure I had considered every available property within our preferred areas. Stuff came and went very fast, indeed the house DD bought had 70 viewings arranged within a day of it coming to market, so worth checking two or three times a day and phoning up as soon as you can.

(I had a note book with me, with a page for each viewing and a list of things to ask about/observe. For example parking can be a real issue as you get a bit closer to the centre. This helped me remember and compare.)

Generally I found that most of the agents I dealt with were very professional, better than their London counterparts. DD was surprised that for her and her flatmate Agents were requiring signed guarantor agreements even before they would let them view a property. (Both had good jobs.) I would be tempted to have paperwork that confirmed job, funds etc ready to show from the outset. It's not about finding a property, though that is hard enough, it is about being seen by the agent/landlord as the best prospective tenant. I don't know about rentals but most purchases were going or at least 10% above "offers over" some quite a lot more.

That said, I had a great time. People in general were lovely and I managed to see 4 or 5 properties a day over 4 days, walking roughly
30,000 steps a day as I crossed between the Lisburn and Ormeau Roads. When we found the right property we bit the bullet and immediately offered our maximum bid, and having convinced the agent that DD was qualified and motivated, the owner agreed and took the house off the market.

I had the same problem... Moved to Belfast 2023 and had a years tenancy secured with my employer.

Searching for a new place in BT9 was STRESSFUL, especially as I was only looking for a 6 month tenancy. I'm financially fairly secure so even offering 6 months rent upfront wasn't enough as some properties had up to 20 other people queuing outside to view.

I eventually found a good place on Gumtree, risky as that sounds. It might be worth a look, but be prepared to pay more in rent here than you'd expect... Prices for rental properties have gone through the roof here.

Again, thanks for all your help, although it is making me feel more stressed about the situation it is good to know the facts and be well equipped!

I will give Gumtree a look. We were actually lucky ourselves with Gumtree in the past in finding a property here in London and I do find that sometimes it is much better to deal directly with the landlord instead of through an agent (although I know it is rare to find!) We are also checking openrent. Another site I cane across this week is Rentola - I need to look into it further but has anyone else come across or found this site helpful?

Property Pal and Property News are probably your best bet- although there is/ was a boycott of Property Pal by some estate agents recently so Property News seems to be better at the moment.

Rentola seemed abit.. gimmicky? I think you have to pay a fee to join or something...