short-term let for a family?

[borninmyheart]

Dear MNers

Please help!

I am hoping somebody may be able to advise me if there are good websites or other routes to find suitable short-term lets, sth suitable for me (LP) and 2 DDs (7 and 11) for 4 months in West Sussex. We are returning to the UK from abroad as I will be between jobs, and on training. I will commute to London, the DDs will attend school locally. Most rental properties are for 6 months minimum, and unfurnished. Most shorter lets are holiday lettings, with furniture but work out much more expensive per month. I have googled options and can find sites for students, for M-F rentals but not for us. Ideally we'd find sth like a small granny annexe, rented per month and covered by a legal agreement. I am registered with a number of agents but through that route, I would probably have to pay for a full 6 months even if we only stay 4.

My employer will guarantee the rental payments, as we have no credit history in the UK. I am in a professional career, and the kids are pretty well behaved. We'd make great tenants, but our situation falls between several stools.

Any advice you can offer gratefully received!

6 months is a legal contract. Anything below that is not legal or as you say, holiday lets or dodgy.

I'd just go with 6 months and be prepared to pay for the extra couple.

Think on it as an extra couple of months when you buy to paint and put new carpets etc down when you buy?

You can get weekly lets in central London but an Assured Short hold Tenancy is a minimum of 6 months. Any thing advertised for shorter on websites is very dubious and there are scammers willing to take your money and disappear. Would the company take the lease? There should also be part and fully furnished property around but it ahs become harder for ll's to work on that basis due to risk of damage and need to meet regulations. Will you be shipping your things over ?

Thank you for your replies. definitely want to avoid the dodgy. One of the difficulties is that we are just temporarily in the UK, then returning back to the country where we are based now. But it is a condition that I undergo this training period, and be based in the UK. We will be living out of (largish) suitcases, so minimum household effects.

I think we will have to go for the full 6 months, and just accept that we will be paying for a couple of months we don't need when we leave.

Do you have school places lined up , as it may not be that easy to do so in anticipation of a move. If you have to do this sort of temporary relocation will company not help with accommodation and expenses ?

Years back, my company got a flat with foxtons and it was a short term let, fully furnished for 3 month contract, paid in advance and all utilities included. It was in central London and i recall the rent was very negotiable on one property that was on the market at the time. worked out cheaper than serviced flats. I would think someone must have similar requests for client homes in popular family areas, so try contacting the more upscale realtors in your area.

look on findaproperty.com for short lets, they do come up. Agreed that you cannot have a shorter AST than six months, so there has to be some trust - but I got a month-to-month rental with only minimum paperwork with a short let landlord. All good, nice place, deposit returned. No use to you though as not commutable to London.

It's a thing in my life ... DONT use Countrywide, just don't. Rubbish service, no maintenance, repairs took months then they kept our deposit.

Hi, I don't post often, but I have plenty of experience of finding rented properties. Six months is often the minimum term, but you can get shorter. I would say you're more likely to get a shorter agreement with a private landlord than through an agency. You're also more likely to be able to negotiate your terms.

I've often found places on Gumtree. Yes, there are scammers, but they're pretty easy to spot. There are whole properties on spareroom.co.uk as well but they're more fiddly to find as that site is set up for single people. I find that Rightmove is practically all agencies these days. There might also be a local rentals website - I don't know about West Sussex, but I used to live in Oxford and that has one or two websites for properties in that area.

Will you be able to visit the area before you need to move in? If so, try local papers and shop windows.

If you do end up signing up for six months initially, but then you/the landlord/the agent are able to find other people to move in when you want to leave (i.e. after the four months) you should be able to end the contract early as the next people's contract will start.

Hope this helps.

Thank you to you all for taking the time to offer advice. I am trying to get my (new) employer to help me find somewhere, but at the moment, we're on our own. We do have school places lined up already - that's another story altogether!

sausage yes, we'd ideally like to find a private landlord, who would be happy to settle for the shorter let and we could put sth tailored in place to provide some legal protection (for both parties).

Off to do some more research: thanks for the leads.

Perhaps you could try sabbaticalhomes.com? I've spent time on that site looking for short-term holiday-type rentals, but understandably most offers are for longer term. Could be just what you want, though. Good luck!