Tips for getting into a rental property in Canberra

There’s really only one answer to this problem: more supply. Unfornately, even if the govt acted now (which it won’t), and there were plenty of tradies (which there aren’t), it would still take several years to get enough stock into the market to alleviate the problem.

Interestingly, I have read that the rental market typically lags the property purchase market by a couple of years, so after another 6-12 months we may get a respite from rising rents.

People are forgetting a few of things.

1. There is a huge demand for rental accommodation in Canberra.
2. The majority of the people applying for rentals are suitable tenants (good salary, stable job).

The above two points have made property mangers lazy. Why look for the absolute best tenant when you have 20 tenants who are perfectly suitable too.

We have an oversupply of quality prospective renters in a market that has vacancy rates of 0.5%. We have low-medium density housing where we least need it (close to CBDs) and lastly, those who make the rules certainly do not rent, and do OWN rentals and are making are killing out of the Canberra market.

fragge said :

Been applying for rentals since December, lease ended in January, been couching it up for nearly two months waiting for any kind of communication (LJ Hooker Dickson has possibly the worst agents I’ve ever dealt with: rude, unresponsive, no courtesy, unhelpful), it’s practically impossible for two single young males (despite being on very high incomes) to secure a rental over the influx of public servants and young families flooding the market. Sigh.

It’s not just guys, my housemate and I, and another friend new to Canberra (all girls) are on our 4th week of looking. Despite over 20 applications, a perfect rental history, and high incomes we are about to be homeless. Or evicted, which would destroy our refrences and lead to an even worse situation! As for agents, I find the vast majority of them rude and unhelpful, is it really that hard to send an email or make a phone call getting back to people? Even when we call to ask what’s going on, they are never in the office, and never return the call. It is frustrating beyond words!

Been applying for rentals since December, lease ended in January, been couching it up for nearly two months waiting for any kind of communication (LJ Hooker Dickson has possibly the worst agents I’ve ever dealt with: rude, unresponsive, no courtesy, unhelpful), it’s practically impossible for two single young males (despite being on very high incomes) to secure a rental over the influx of public servants and young families flooding the market. Sigh.

Assuming three inspections a day, an inspection every six months, an average rent of $400, I reckon a well organised property manager taking 10% would be making around $14,400 a week.

el said :

Property Manager said :

And refer to my point on REFERENCES.

Yes, because someone who has owned and lived in their own property for over a dozen years is going to be flush with glowing rental references, aren’t they?

If you actually read his point about references, you’d see he talks about personal references where no rental reference is available.

As someone who is still cleaning up his house after previous tenants, I wonder whether a property manager would have helped. If so, would they have helped enough to justify the 8, 10 or even 11 percent they ask for now? Given that rents have gone up quite a lot in recent years, it seems that the recent rise from 5% fees means their earnings are increasing exponentially.

Out of curiosity, how many properties does the average full-time property manager manage?

Property Manager said :

Inappropriate said :

Any tips for someone who is entering the rental market after being a homeowner for 12+ years (due to a marriage breakdown)?

When you’re having that brief chat with the agent at the exhibition, give them the quick run down on your situation. We’re all human, and you aren’t the first person to have to find somewhere to live after a relationship breakdown. And refer to my point on REFERENCES.

Yes, because someone who has owned and lived in their own property for over a dozen years is going to be flush with glowing rental references, aren’t they?

re all the points above:

No, thanks.

I don’t recognise property managers as sources of advice. The job must rank as among the lowest, most desperate and unthinking in the white-collar world – I struggle to name one more purely and expressly exploitative. The quoted remark of the property manager whose colleagues would merely go through the first ten applications (bin the rest) find the first suitable person and bing they get it is amusing in its frankness.

Whether or not selection of tenants is actually made on the ‘bing’ principle, I’m not interested in learning how to be inspected, vetted, subjected to rental auctions or in other ways used as a means to someone else’s (usually a bank’s) financial gain. Why not teach the frog in its pot of slowly heating water to breaststroke?

Not only do I have no interest in the advice per se, I reject its assumptions. The ‘tough times’ mentioned in the post are completely confected. It’s greed and price gouging that make such ‘tough times’.

Given that the ultimate beneficiaries of $500,000 mortgages are also banks, I’ll continue to rent, but only through private arrangements found on free advertising forums. The relationship between landlord and tenant may always be exploitative, but it’s more human when your landlord isn’t hiding behind a property manager. It’s also, by and large, cheaper and longer-lasting. A friend of mine has this method down to a fine art. For the last 15 years he has rented a small flat in inner western Sydney for $130 per week. I doubt he resents the few extra obligations that go with renting at this price point, such as mowing the lawn now and then, or switching off a smoke alarm which his ageing landlady has set off with her smoky cooking, but is too short to reach herself.

kezzafezza said :

When we moved to Canberra 1 year ago we applied for 7 houses, and got approved for them all. So it was nice to have a choice. We had all the paperwork filled out before we went to open homes, and also has copies of all relevant paperwork like payslips. All the agents were quite pleased when we handed them everything completed, while everyone else was standing around filling out forms.
We introduced ourselves to the agents, and had a friendly chat before we looked around. We dressed nicely.
We must have done something right as we have 2 cats and a dog which we did mention and still got approved for every property we applied for

In all the times I’ve rented, not that many only 4 in the last 10 years including 2 as a part of a share house, once as a single male after a marriage breakdown and once as part of a family, I’ve always got the first place I’ve applied for. And I suspect it was for the reasons PM, kezzafezza and others stated. In this day and age I also call and enquire about the property before the inspection and follow up with an email (or vis versa) stating how much I was looking forward to inspecting the property and having the opertunity to apply. There is a fine line between being seen as keen and coming across as a pushy nutjob but if you can sail on the right side of that line you will be remembered and have a much higher chance of getting the property you want. And I too have always had pets and still got the properties I’ve applied for even when some have stated ‘no pets’ and had flatmates in ‘no share house’ properties.

RE: Entering the marker after being a homeowner yourself, +1 for the advice. The fact that you have owned your OWN house previously SHOULD work in your favour, but you may have to make the effort to make it so.