Landlords - how do I stand out from crowd in high demand rental market?

[Yawnandstretch]

Hi,

I’ve been renting for the past 13 years but always through an agent, so I’m not sure if the agent chooses the tenant or the landlord?

Rental properties are in very high demand in my area and we really struggled to find somewhere last time we moved due to sheer number of people applying for each property.

I’m going to see a house next week and it seems perfect so I really want to be in the best chance of getting it - is there anything I can do?

It’s a 3 bed house, excellent price so demand will be high. My husband and I are both self employed, I have 5yrs of tax returns, my husband (main earner) only has 2yrs, the agent wants household annual income of 30x rent which we have, we have 2 children age 3 and 1 (not sure if this puts us on back foot).

We are only moving as we are currently in a small 2 bed flat and paying same price as this house is listed for. I was pregnant when we we last moved (almost 4 yrs ago) and because of this the agent/landlord insisted we have a guarantor despite passing affordability, so we can use this person again if needed - do I mention that or wait to be asked? We both have fair credit ratings with no IVAs or CCJs/bankruptcy.

Thanks in advance if you’ve read this far - any advice on how/if it’s possible to stand out from crowd very welcome!

I work in this are and have to put offers to landlords and/or agents for my clients
Its usual for The agent (if there is one) to put all offers to the Landlord and then the Landlord chooses which one. A few things that help
No pets
No smoking
No Kids (but if its a 3 bed house upwards its more expected)
2 adults both working are better one just 1 even if salary is higher
Been in in a good job longer than 6 months
Good references from previous Landlord
Happy to move in as soon as house is ready

there is no definitive answer to this as it really depends on what, if any, instructions the LL has given to the agent regarding who they want to let to (and yes there may be discriminatory verbal instructions). Always remember the agent works for the person who contracts with them, ie the landlord, not the tenant.

having your tenancy references lined up should be a big plus if your current LL is aware of you leaving and will cooperate with writing a recent one

if desperate you could suggest you'll pay a lump sum in advanced, but that may be very counterproductive if your financial assessment shows you can afford normal rent - lumps in advance are a feature of property intended for use by crack heads who then disappear and so such a suggestion may cause alarm bells to ring.

If it's that well priced you may need to offer over the rental price or pay more upfront. Unfortunately if anyone without kids applies in steady jobs they will appear the "safer" option for a landlord.

I’m a landlord, agent always gives me details of the tenants who have applied. I chose my most recent tenants because they were in stable jobs and had no pets. We have had all sorts of family combinations in our properties but we always avoid pets if possible and honestly I generally choose families with children because I think they are more likely to stay long term and I would always prefer this than people who are in and out in a year, good luck with it!

I'd say that is true of school aged kids. But people often move for catchments and toddlers draw on walls...

Thanks all, we are non smokers with no pets so hopefully that goes in our favour.

This is worth thinking about, thank you.

I’m very aware that two childless full time workers are more desirable so I just hope there aren’t any that apply!

We don’t have to move right now, it would just be so nice to have a bit more space!

As @Hoppinggreen has said “happy to move in as soon as house is ready”.
If I can avoid a ‘void’ month and there’s not much to choose between the tenants, I let who ever can move in first take the property. Unless the other party has offered more over the 12 months. Also a nice covering letter, sort of a friendly family C.V. has helped me choose before.

I offered to pay 6 months rent up front.

Not quite the same but my DS wrote a tenant CV for him and his 3 house sharers to secure a house in a very competitive rental market. There were often in competition with 20 other groups. It seemed to help.

I know we got this place over families. 50 plus both WFH both earn over 50k we moved during COVID and there were families as we have a large garden that is understandable but the property is safer with us home all day and less likely to get damaged with no pets or kids.

Thank you, the available date is 1 month before our tenancy ends but I’m thinking our current LL may be happy to terminate contract early if another tenant is found, and we’d be happy with the worse case scenario of paying 2 rents for a month.

The covering letter sounds interesting? Was this passed to agent at time of viewing? I’d be intrigued to know more as this sounds nice but id be wary of being too cheesy?

The only way my son could secure a flat to rent was to offer to pay a year's rent in advance AND offer to pay 10% over the asking price. It's an absolute nightmare in popular prices at the moment with low supply.

I am a landlord. A tenant who has provable past income, who can supply references is sufficient and who can show right of residence is fine. I am happy for any number of pets providing the tenant agrees to compensate for evidenced damage. Also due to pot growing potentially wary of tenants who offer long term rent in advance!

Erm, I'm not sure that 'crackheads' generally pay six months rent in advance and then fuck off.

They tend to spend most of their money on....crack!

When I was a prospective tenant I missed out on so many properties. In the end I offered to up the rent by £50 a month and the landlord accepted. That was back in the early 2000s.

It is an absolute nightmare. I've found that despite having a good job the fact I have children really stacks the odds against you.

We look for reliable long term tenants who are likely to get on with the neighbours. Children are more likely to indicate stability, so are a bonus for us. But you could offer a higher deposit if the LL is concerned about wear and tear. We ask no cats or dogs. I've never received a covering letter but can see how anything that gives more information about the tenant might swing it.

Financial stability is more important than career or high income. You'd be amazed at the number of people in well paid jobs who look good on paper but turn out to have debts and CCJs against them.

@Yawnandstretch
Yes the agent sent us their covering letter, which included a lovely photo of them and their smiley 14 months old baby.

The letter thing isn't a bad idea but there is no guarantee an Agent will pass it on

All other things being equal tenants who are likely to take good care of the property and not bother the neighbours

The biggest factors are: 1. Affordability- do you have enough secure income to pay the rent and still pay your bills and buy food, or will you be in a situation of having to choose between food and rent.

1. Non smoking
2. No pets

Having small children can unfortunately count against you.
Agents often use a tenancy checking service and don't allow the landlords to view the references. You might have a better chance trying to rent properties directly from landlords so you can market yourselves more directly.

I’m a Landlird. It helps if I think you’ll be there long term, so a letter should say that you hope for your children to go to the local school, want to raise your family there. It also helps if I think you’ll take good care of the property, so talk about how much you like the property/ why it’s suitable for you.

How is a landlord going to know that?