How easy is it to rent before buying next house?

[paleimitation]

We accepted an offer on our house 2 weeks ago, but there is nothing quite right for us on the market at the moment. I have seen a number of houses in the area come and go that would have been great for us before we sold, so they do come up.

I'm just wondering if we should rent for a bit rather than compromise on something not quite right. But I'm not sure how easy it would be, for example we would only want a 6 month tenancy at most, how hard are these to come by? And we have a rabbit, she can live in the garden, but do many landlords accept pets? Is is generally more hassle than it's worth moving, then moving again shortly after?

We put up six months rent, found and moved into a house within two months, but it was exactly what we wanted. We were up front with the landlord, who was quids in when we moved out four months early. It is stressful moving twice, but better than buying the wrong house.

We did it. We were on a six month rental. Found the house after about three months but it then took a couple of months to sort out all the paperwork and surveys, so we only overlapped by one month. It was so worth it. Estate agents love you for breaking up chains so they give you first call on any new properties. (That's how we got ours.)

Thank you for replying, so 6 month tenancies are available. I'm feeling so frustrated at the moment, I had my eye on houses that were on the market for up to 6 months and they've all suddenly sold just as we are finally ready to buy. Perhaps it's the time of year?

I've either rented or stayed with parents in between every house move so far - we were either waiting for a new build to be completed or our buyers wanted to move in before our sellers were ready to move out. Finding a short term rental round here for 5 people two dogs and two cats was not easy and we only managed it through word of mouth or family connections each time.

We've rented before but had no pets or children at the time so it was easier. It put us in a great position to buy as we were chain free + we actually bought a fixer upper and continued renting while we did it up. We added lots of value in the process.

We rented initially for 6 months but then took the opportunity to do loads of work on our new house so rented for a year in total. I also had a baby in that time (and already had a toddler) so it was good to not live in a building site! Our landlord wouldn't have minded a rabbit outside.

We are renting currently chose to have a 12 month lease out of choice. But most places it’s 6 months.

Been a really good move for us as has give us chance to look in other areas around where we want to be and also decisions about the type of house.

OP, 6 month assured shorthold tenancies are standard in the UK unless otherwise specified, after the initial 6 months term you'll probably be asked if you want to renew for another 6 months or switch to a rolling month by month tenancy. With the latter if you want to move you just give them a months notice. If they want you to move out after the 6 month term is up, the landlord/letting agent has to give you 2 months notice.
Hope that is useful.