what's the earliest you can secure rented properties?

smi85

I'm relocating in January, so is it best practice to wait until I'm within a few days of moving to view properties/sign leases, or can I secure the lease on a property early, i.e. Nov/Dec?

Thanks

Werdnal

LL will want to carry out referencing and credit checks on you before they will accept you as a tenant. This can be done in as little as 24 hours, but always best to leave atleast a week to allow for delays. Whats your credit history like, are you likley to be accepted for the first property to go after, or is there any chance LL will reject you and you have to start looking elsewhere?

Also depends on what is likely to be available in the area - are rentals easy to come by, do they get snapped up quickly etc?

Bear in mind that if you want to "secure" a property which is vacant, the LL may insist your tenancy starts from the day you agree to take it, so you may be paying in advance of moving in.

Also, if you take a property that still has tenants in place, there may be hiccups in them leaving, so this may delay your move in.

Do you have to give notice on the place you are currently living?

Its all a bit of a balancing act really!

Annisele

I agree with Werdnal - but I'd add that it also depends on when in January you're moving.

If you're wanting to move in on 1 January, then it's a very bad idea to leave things until Christmas week! If you want to move in mid-January, you might be OK leaving things until the last minute.

I'd give a few lettings agents in the area you're moving to a call. Where I live (east London) properties go *fast* - if there isn't a new tenant lined up at least three weeks before the existing tenant leaves, either the property's a dump or it's really expensive. So, here you'd want to be looking early to mid-November. In other parts of the country it's more of a tenants' market, and "I want to move in tomorrow" might work.