Vacancy rates have been airtight in recent years.
Capital cities and regions alike have seen vacancy rates hovering around the 1% mark for a long time now as a shortage of available properties is perpetuated by slow construction, increased immigration, a reduction in borrowing power for would-be buyers and a whole lot of properties being taken out of the long-term rental market and converted into short term holiday accommodation.
To put it simply, demand for rentals is high and competition is fierce. A 1% vacancy rate means that 1 in every 100 rentable properties is actually available at any time for new tenants.
It’s great news for landlords who have cashed in with higher rents and less risk of vacancy periods, but it’s tough for tenants. It doesn’t get much harder to find a rental in a market like this.
So how do you stand out from a crowd of hundreds and make yourself as eligible as possible to have your rental application approved?
Form is important
Leasing agents always say the first and most important thing you need to do is fill out your application properly. In a market like this, an agent won’t bother with an incomplete or incorrectly filled out form when they can simply disregard it and move onto one of many others.
Big brother is watching
It’s always been important to dress and present well at open homes, but these days, there are many other avenues for first impressions. Agents may also head to your social media pages when doing their due diligence, so ditch the party pics on Instagram and ensure your work and financial details are up to date if you are on LinkedIn.
Here’s the sell
When it comes to financial suitability, you need to sell yourself. For those on a salary, the longer you have been employed in your current job, the more stable you appear. For self-employed folks, at least two years’ worth of business financials is desirable.
If unemployed, a statement showing your savings is necessary, plus an explanation as to why you are between jobs.
You may be taking time off before starting a new role, been made redundant, or sold a business for a windfall, in which case you still have the funds to comfortably cover the duration of a lease.
Apply for properties within your financial reach. If you’re looking to pay more than 35% of your income on rent, it may raise a red risk flag for a landlord.
Rental resume
You wouldn’t apply for a job without a CV, so apply the same thinking here. Create a rental resume with job details, salary, financial statements, pay slips, prior rental experience and
reference letters with the contact details of referees. A copy of your photo ID is also a must.
If you are planning to share a house, get your housemates’ documents ready to go too.
There are also apps out there such as 1Form that allow you to use a single form for multiple applications and provide tenant verification for agents (for a fee of course), so consider such options for streamlining an application.
Clean slate
Your rental history should show that your rent was always paid on time. Agents will check the rental histories of all applicants, including their rental ledgers, which include details of every rental payment they have ever made.
If there are any outstanding bills owed to previous landlords, make sure you settle them before applying for your next property.
If it’s your first rental, you won’t have a history, but a letter detailing your financial stability and promising to take good care of the landlord’s property could be a nice touch.
Go long!
Offer to sign a longer-term lease. Any landlord who has had to repeatedly fill tenant vacancies knows how costly it can be, so will jump at the chance of a 2 or 3-year lease and some financial certainty. The added benefit is that it also protects you from short-term rental hikes.