Where to find private house rentals in Bristol

[Christine1234567]

Hi there, would anyone have any advice on how to find private landlords in / around Bristol? Im looking for an unfurnished 2+ bed rental property for long term (with outdoor space) for myself and a studious 8 year old within 25 min commute from MoD/ Filton. I cant pass the credit check due to my FT income, but I have a guarantor, can pay 6-12 months rent in advance/ increased security deposit, and receive 1K GBP monthly in maintenance.
I have a clean and consistent credit/ rent/ employment history and positive references, no pets, non smoking. If anyone can help/ point me in the right direction asap that would be amazing. So far I`ve scoured Rightmove, Zoopla, Primelocation/ On the Market/ News Now/ Trovit. I have until October 2022 latest to secure something. Thanks!!

We resorted to bribing the young lettings agent with slabs of beer. Amazingly we went to the top of the list for new listings costing just a few slabs.

Worth a go if it is an early 20's bloke, they like free beer.

Word of mouth works well. Is there anyone at your place of work that is moving out of their rental soon and can recommend you as a tenant?
You could try local facebook pages and gumtree.

Wow thats brave! - Ill keep that option in mind thanks for the tip!🙂

Yes I agree with word of mouth but Im up in Manchester and dont know anyone in Bristol where Ill be starting a new job. I think Im also in competition right now with thousands of students looking for accommodation for the start of the new academic year.
If anyone out there in/ around Bristol is reading this, please do get in touch- I`m a responsible and low maintenance tenant from New Zealand, with excellent landlord references. Thanks a lot! :)

Have you actually spoken to any lettings agents? In my experience, although many of the larger chains (Foxtons etc) will automatically discount anyone who doesn't tick every box, a lot of the smaller/local ones will be more likely to be flexible if you can offer 'extras' like a guarantor and rent up front. My sister just rented a house through a smaller agent despite her and her fiance not quite meeting the monthly income requirement AND her fiance having a rubbish credit rating, because they were able to offer six months' rent up front and had impeccable landlord references with no late payments etc for the last several years.

It's also really important IMO to build a rapport - maybe not to the extent of beer bribes 😆 but lettings agents are just people after all. They may well be more likely to remember and get in touch with the polite, personable applicant over the dozens of formal/impersonal inquiries they receive when something suitable comes up.

FaceBook groups might also be worth a shot - there is one called Bristol Alternative Community Abodes for example which often has private landlords, although they tend to be more likely to be renting out rooms as opposed to entire houses.

Good luck!

thank you for that! i agree about establishing rapport but i think the competition at this time of year is just fierce. Its reassuring though to hear about your sisters success despite the odds.. --You didn`t happen to catch which agency (/ies) she approached did you?? :))

Have you looked at all of the Stokes, north of the A4174? It's a bit boring round there but there are loads of houses and the schools are OK.

Have you asked HR at work?

I'd say try Bradley Stoke ( souls but ok) students don't tend to live there or in Little Stoke, if you drive try Almondsbury or even out towards Thornbury.
You will be looking at 1k + rent.

*soulless.

I did see the Stokes areas tend to be housing developments, I guess theyre intended for employees. I do drive so Ill expand my search radius to north of A4174/ out toward Thornbury. I did ask re: relocation office but they no longer exist, and when they did- they primarily served service personnel. So..a bit disappointing on both counts. Anyways, thank you both for the tips! :)

Best thing to do is narrow down the area you want to live in, then look at local Estate Agents. You could also check Gumtree and Facebook for private listings. Is there a particular school your DS/DD will be going to? Happy to help as local, but more details would be useful

P.s Thornbury would be a nightmare traffic wise, unless you leave before 7am

I think I'm also in competition right now with thousands of students looking for accommodation for the start of the new academic year.
This won't be the case, btw; they will have sorted themselves out earlier in the year (traditionally Jan/Feb/Mar). Also, they won't be looking at the same sort of properties as you - they will either be in Halls or looking for house-shares.

Had you looked at Portishead- lots of flats and small houses and it used to have specific buses going to the MOD (and it's a very quick drive too although a bit solid at commute time)

Hi Senua I guess you´re right, properties just seem to be snapped up so fast esp on Rightmove and Zoopla, I really cannot believe how hard it is to get a foot in!

..yes! I did look at Portishead and would love to get a place out there but I just thought during peak hours I would not like to be stuck on that commute home. As my partner lives in Germany I have to make sure Im in commuting distance of my childs school (where ever that ends up being!!)

Hi Knuddlebär that´s so kind of you, thanks so much. 2 weeks ago I was planning on finding accommodation in Emersons Green/ Mangotsfield areas, as the Stokes areas (as mentioned by others) looked a bit "staid". I have the feeling though appearing to be a "single parent" on paper is a bit of a disadvantage when dealing with agents. My partner and childs father lives and works in Germany and contributes as co-habiting parents would, but agencies wont recognise this because he lives/ earns abroad (surely I cant be the only person moving to Bristol with a family based internationally). Anyway, I´m expanding my search area as Im getting no-where focussing on E. Green/ Mangotsfield alone. And Im adjusting my expectations so in the best case there will be an outstanding primary school (or two) in the area I move to. Im also moving from Manchester which makes it doubly difficult to arrange a spontaneous viewing. So this is why Im appealing to private landlords now (--who may be sympathetic to my plight? :))) As suggested above, Ive just now put up an ad on Gumtree and posted on a few rental FB group pages.

Any further advice would be so very welcome though :) xx

Try local estate agents we bought about 30 mins from there through west coast, they do rentals and I know they have been good about taking people with less traditional references etc eg with guarantor because the lady who took the rental we had prior was in that situation, nice compassionate woman agent. Try also the villages just to the north and look at the train line for potentially good locations. Friends live in Yate for instance. Finally try Facebook groups for the town /area you want. I'm in Portishead and people regularly post to ask if anyone has a rental. Alas I don't otherwise I would have you!

I have to make sure I'm in commuting distance of my child's school (where ever that ends up being!!)
That's a bit chicken-and-egg. Do you realise that the area you are talking about is borderline between two Education Authorities? Filton and the Stokes are South Gloucestershire; Southmead and Horfield are Bristol. Map here.

How about further North of Bristol. My DH works at Aztec West and it takes him around 25 mins from border of Stroud. There are nice Primaries and Preps round here and if your 8 year old might be be looking at Grammar School later on then this area would suit. We might have a small house to rent out in this area, but it wouldn't be for a while. What's your rent budget?

haha thanks Gogohmm that`s really kind of you to say! I will try having a squizz further out in the direction of Yate though, I had not considered (I had thought it looked a wee bit far on googlemaps from Filton).

Thats GREAT senua, thanks for that map its a really helpful overview for me. I must say though Im a bit worried now you say: borderline between two Education Authorities. Would that necessarily be a bad thing? - sorry I dont yet know the ins and outs of schooling in the UK!

Hi Clappyfats..um..no, to be honest I have not searched in Stroud, but schooling (and continuity) is definitely a consideration for me. If you would be happy to recognise my partners (documented) contribution to the household income, our upper budget would be 1500 pcm. (We would need to be "Bristol-accessible" by start to mid Sept (ideally for the start of the new school year)). Just please let me know if you have any thoughts on that- Id be more than happy to get in touch with anyone who can help me out of this conundrum :))

If you're relocating from a distance (we did this last year - 200 miles) then book some time off to go there, then book whatever is available to view then. I didn't know what I was viewing until the day before I travelled (in one instance not until the morning of the viewing) as the rental market moves so fast. Be prepared to move very very fast so have your paperwork scanned and ready to submit the application. I booked viewings on the Friday, did the viewings on the Sat morning, submitted applications Sat evening, got preferred tenant by 10am on Monday.

And timing-wise for school place, check application timeframes. We could submit an application a max of 20 school days ahead of needing the place and had to have a settled address by then. Needed the place for after Oct half term, so needed to have an address by end of September, which meant doing viewings the first weekend of September. We ended up paying for a month's tenancy before we moved in just to get the address.