Selling, but when to look for a rental

Doodles

I have my house on the market at the moment, and want to move into rented accommodation.
Obviously its too early to look for properties as I don't yet have a buyer. But when I do, what sort of stage in the process would you recommend I start to look and book viewings on rental houses?
Also, if I found somewhere that was right but was a little bit too early, do landlords generally accept a holding deposit for a couple of months? Is that a thing?
Thanks in advance!

MaryNB

The maximum holding deposit they can ask for is a week's rent and they can only keep it for up to 15 days. Before this point you either have to sign a tenancy agreement or you or the landlord pull out. If a tenancy agreement is signed or the landlord pulls out you get your deposit back. If you pull out the landlord keeps it.
I've generally rented in high demand areas and haven't often seen places up for rent much more than a month in advance.  Don't sign a tenancy agreement until until you've exchanged on your house. 

LoopyLoops

When we did the same, sold and went to rented no landlord would consider us seriously until we had exchanged.  We did view properties once we went under offer though, but was difficult as in a different county and the ones we liked went before we exchanged and could commit.  We asked are buyer for 4 weeks between exchange and completion as we didn’t have a definite place and knew we had to do all the checks.  It did work out great, thankfully! 

Doodles

Thanks both :-) 

lookstraightahead

Wait for exchange, and ask for a few weeks before completion. 

pinkteapot

You really do need a couple of weeks between exchange and completion when going from owned into rented. Once we knew exchange would be happening within a week, we viewed rentals that fitted our criteria and decided which one we wanted. We told the agent (though if it's a fast-moving area they won't hold it). As soon as our solicitor confirmed exchange had happened, we completed the application paperwork. Be aware that if you're going through a letting agent who does full credit check and takes up references, the application process can take a week.

You're not actually committed to taking on the property until you sign the lease and the tenancy starts - which happens after the application has been approved. So, you could apply before exchange, but you risk wasting application fees if the sale then falls through. You certainly don't want to sign a tenancy before exchange. 

The complicating factor at the moment however is that Covid means most people are doing same-day exchange and completion. If someone on here has sold and gone into rented with same-day exchange and completion they might be able to explain how to do it! All I can think is you have to take the risk of signing a tenancy pre-exchange. The risk is the sale falling through and you still being liable for the initial 6/12 months rent...

v_rouge

I am in the same situation at the moment and I started looking a few weeks back to see what was available. We exchange today and we asked for 3 weeks between exchange and completion so that we have time to sort out the rental, and the minute we exchange today I have a list of people to contact as there's no risk for us then locking in somewhere. 

Doodles

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Think the best is to to ask for 3-4 weeks between exchange and completion then, and I definitely won't sign any contract until exchange has happened :-)