When to start looking for rental property

weevil_

I'm not a first time renter by any means but I have mostly moved in the same town or to/from somewhere where dates were irrelevant.

My current tenancy in Sheffield is up on the 5th September and then I'm moving to Norwich to become a mature student. I'm not living in student accommodation, I'm looking for a studio/bedsit with decent links to the uni.

But I don't know how soon to start looking. It means a trip down there so several places can be arranged which isn't a problem but if I find an empty place now they'll want me to move in now which I can't, nor can I pay rent for 2 places at once. I'd also rather go with private landlords to avoid outrageous £100+ agency fees. I look at gumtree a lot which tends to have the same places, which is either good news that they'll still be available or bad that they're gross. Or rightmove but it's mostly agencies on there.

Just looking for others experiences when they've done this kind of thing.

Salz

You need to do it pretty soon as renters have to give a months notice, so most rentals coming on now are for the end of August. I have never had any problem with asking for a date a month in advance, and most letting agents/ landlords accept that, so you shouldn't have to pay for 2 rentals