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!!

I'm a bit worried now you say: borderline between two Education Authorities. Would that necessarily be a bad thing?
Not bad, as such, just a thing to be aware of.
I don't yet know the ins and outs of schooling in the UK!
You need to learn. Fast! It's not a national thing, it is organised around administrative areas. Each area will have a webpage giving their rules on admissions to schools. They will, of course, prioritise DC living in their area. They also usually operate a catchment system and give priority to those living closest to a school.
It's short notice for starting school this September so your DC will probably go to whichever Junior school has a space. I think that I would concentrate on forward planning and think more about which Secondary school they will be eligible for in a few years' time.
Bristol admissions
S Glos admissions

I'm Bristol, my husband works at the MOD there are lots of places near to the MOD. I'd post on the Cheswick Village and Stoke Park Facebook groups (plus the school is Cheswisk is lovely, my daughter is about to go into year 4).

Omg.. thanks for the heads up, ridingmybike. It sounds like you were very organised on a very tight time line!
As you mention everything hinges on securing an address. I did call some bristol schools a few weeks ago, just to express interest, but they confirmed the application process only starts with a fixed address.
Do you recall by chance if you noticed a pattern with property listings tending to be publicised at the start / mid / or end of the week??

It was a bloody nightmare to be honest. We had a house sold and it took 6 months. I had thousands in the bank, a guarantor and literally placed went to view within hours and I applied for 4 or 5 and wasn’t shortlisted, I had an amazing salary and my work was guarantor and loads in the bank - it made sod all difference - lone parent meant it was a no which was a farce.

Then I made friends through an agent through an old school friend. It’s all word of mouth the agent recommend you.

Id go through work if you can. Pm me if you want more info

Also know everything about the schools if you want to pm

Thanks senua (for the crash course!!:)), yes it makes good sense to plan forwards, but I don't know if i have that luxury at this stage, as im working with a protracted timeline at a distance. I'm really hoping a landlord comes across this thread (and reaches out!) :))

Are you working for the MOD at Abbey Wood? If so you could get the train straight to Filton Abbey Wood. If you could get the train to work you could potentially look outside Bristol. I’ve got friends who have been commenting from Worle to Filton Abbey wood for years.

Wow hopeandlove..that's so depressing. Your situation sounds like mine, although my partner earns 4x my salary, my bank account is healthy, never had an adverse payment, but applying as an unmarried person with child (not even as "solo" parent) is a real challenge. As mentioned I have a partner- but in Germany. Could I ask what area of the City you managed to find a new home in??

Oh great thanks lindauk5, I didnt know such a group existed %-) my child will also be joining year 4 --exciting time!

thanks! I`ll look into that as well - till now I have just been focussed on a commute by car :))

We knew people when we lived in Bath commuting to Filton abbey wood (the train links) - (about 15 minutes) much nicer place to live in my honest opinion and little difference price wise.

...yes just checking it out now..Bath is nice, and doesn`t seem too far from Bristol airport either.. thanks! :)

The other advantage is the schools are lovely

www.nestoria.co.uk/filton/property/rent

thank you! :))

O - always good to hear! ..I wasnt aware it was only a 15 min train commute to Filton, thats a definite plus.

We rented in Bradley Stoke a few years ago. We found a serviced apartment for a week because we had no luck looking from overseas and had no family this end. Within the week , we managed to find a house, one school place and a nursery place. I’d had an idea of which schools had spaces so focused housing searches close to these.
Why are you telling rental agencies that your partner lives overseas? Whenever our family unit has moved, we’ve always had a family base with all of us on the rental then DH has a place elsewhere for staying during the week. I’m sure many people look at it this way and it’s never been a problem with rental agencies.

Yes is there a reason your partner can't be on the rental or you don't want him to be? Once you've got it it's non of their business if he's not there that often- would make it much easier too

Ive been telling them because he works and therefore lives there. I moved here (from Germany) for work reasons, but hes back and forth btwn the uk and hamburg every fortnight (covid permitting!). I was told by first agency i contacted in bristol that he has to have an abode here in uk to co-sign a lease, and they wont accept him as a guarantor due to international legal jurisdictions/ small claims court issues if they were ever to crop up. This is the reason I can only disclose on my own single modest salary on any rental expressions of interest, and why i will invariably not meet the annual income threshold. Its really frustrating as together we as parents generate a healthy combined income which is shared as if we cohabited. Basically, there is money to cover rent/ money to cover months of rent in advance/ increased security deposits etc - whatever a landlord needs.
Thats why Im here hoping to catch the attention of any private landlords, or anyone who might know one..

"We rented in Bradley Stoke a few years ago. We found a serviced apartment for a week because we had no luck looking from overseas and had no family this end. Within the week , we managed to find a house, one school place and a nursery place. I’d had an idea of which schools had spaces so focused housing searches close to these."
--This is a smart contingency plan ! But it could end up getting a bit costly if don`t have any luck. It sounds like you moved at a fortuitous time and everything fell into place quite smoothly!!

Good luck @Christine1234567 it was incredibly stressful I remember!

There wasn't any pattern to when properties to rent came on the market and I nearly drove myself mad looking online and then they'd immediately be let! I actually booked two viewings on a Wed for the following Saturday and then had them cancelled on the Thurs and Fri as they'd already been let. It was so so stressful on the Thursday afternoon and Friday morning knowing I was travelling there on Friday evening and currently didn't even have any viewings booked! As it was, I ended up viewing four on the Saturday, three booked on Fri and one on Sat first thing.

I had loads of people telling me to decide on a school, then look for houses nearby but TBH we had to do it the other way round as the rental market was so awful - so got the house to rent, then contacted the six
nearest schools to check whether they had any spaces in the right year (no point applying if they didn't). They can't hold a space for you until you're awarded a place thru the application process. We went with the school which had the friendliest/most informative response on email and arranged to visit it. Really liked it, they had one space available, so submitted application 20 school days before she needed to start, kept fingers crossed and got confirmation of the place ten days' later.

It's worth working out which letting agents have the type of house you're looking for in the right price range and seeing if you can go on a mailing list with them. Most weren't doing this when I was looking (too competitive and there were loads of people fighting for rentals so they had no need to maintain a mailing list).

The letting agent was wobbly about our income - I was changing jobs and DH retiring so we had to provide proof we could pay the first six months rent from savings - that required a bank statement printed and stamped actually in the bank (that was a palaver to obtain!) so worth getting things like that ready in advance.

Traffic round the area can be a nightmare so if you're on your own with school runs I'd stick to North Bristol mainly Filton, Frenchay, Cheswick Village or South Glos Bradley Stoke, Stoke Gifford, Downend, Emerson's Green, Lyde Green, Winterbourne, Frampton Cotterell, Yate all have good schools

www.openrent.co.uk/properties-to-rent/filton-bristol

Wow this is super helpful! thank you Squirrel76/ Ridingmybike (sorry this is the first time Ive posted on mumsnet and I havent got the hang of answering parts of quotes yet :)). My timeline is quite short now so I reckon Ill need to prioritise accommodation over school location. But its really good to know how quickly the application process goes and what`s involved. Last week I think I checked rightmove - it showed the average time properties in the Stokes areas were being snapped up was 30 minutes from initial posting on the website!! Perhaps this is a peak time for those seeking rentals..😥