How to get approved for a rental application

With scores of tenants competing for the same rental listings, you need to stand out from the crowd to get your new home. Here’s how.

Desperate tenants have turned to writing heartfelt letters to property managers in a bid to secure housing, as Australia’s national rental crisis worsens.

With asking rents continuing to soar as vacancy rates tighten, Real Estate Institute of Australia president Leanne Pilkington says crowds of applicants are looking for ways to stand out at open inspections.

I’ve never seen it this tough to get a rental before,” Ms Pilkington said.

“I’ve heard of people giving letters to property managers, talking about their situation to try to help get approved. There are so many really tough stories out there.”

Real Estate Institute of Australia president Leanne Pilkington. Picture: Supplied

Ms Pilkington said that while governments are focused on ways to improve housing affordability and help vulnerable Australians, policy making is a long term pursuit.

“Something needs to happen now,” she said. “It just gets worse and worse.

And it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

HOW DO YOU STAND OUT WITH A RENTAL APPLICATION?

While it could be helpful to let a sympathetic property manager know about your plight, Ms Pilkington said the most important thing to focus on when applying for a rental is to get the basics right.

“A property manager might have five inspections on a Saturday with 20 people at each. If half of those fill out applications, that’s 50 to review that afternoon or on Monday,” she said.

“You have to make it easy to choose you. The easiest way to do that is to have everything ready that they will ask you for; your rental ledger, references, forms of ID …

“You would be surprised how many people don’t.”

A crowd queues for an open inspection of a rental property. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

TOP 7 TIPS FOR GETTING YOUR RENTAL APPLICATION APPROVED

1. Apply yourself when applying

Get the basics right, Steve Mutton, LJ Hooker General Manager of Network, said.

“You hear stories of 40 people turning up at open inspections, but 60 per cent of the applications that come through aren’t completed properly,” Mr Mutton said. “In really tight markets, property managers don’t need to even look at those, because there are so many others.”

2. Documentation and references

“Supporting documentation is really important,” Mr Mutton said.

“The ID, employment reference and pay slips should be ready before you walk into a property.

“Some tenants are putting cover letters on their application, which summarises their situation and that is attractive to a property manager because they’ve got a snapshot of what that tenant is offering without trawling through documents.”

3. Make the right impression

“If there are 20 people at an inspection, 15 or more might make good tenants, so you just want to make a positive interaction,” Mr Mutton said.

“Don’t stand out for the wrong reasons.”

Supporting documents are very important when applying to rent a new home.

4. Make your best offer

Many applicants are offering more than the advertised rent. That is legal, but it is illegal for agents to tell tenants how much rent other people have offered. So, Mr Mutton said tenants should lead with their best offer.

5. Offer to sign a long-term lease

Market conditions can change relatively quickly, so landlords may be attracted to the security of a long-term lease. Mr Mutton said mentioning this on a cover letter can instantly make a tenant more attractive.

6. Be urgent and responsive

“You hear about 20 applications being submitted, but how many are on the Saturday compared to Monday morning? You need to be ready to go,” Mr Mutton said.

LJ Hooker’s Steve Mutton says get yourself known as a motivated, quality tenant.

“If you do get accepted for the property, secure it immediately, don’t wait until after work, or the next day.”

7. Make yourself known to agents

If the property managers have links to selling agents at the same company, Mr Mutton says it can pay to be on their list of motivated, quality tenants.

“A selling agent may sell a property and then a property manager might have someone who wants to rent it, so they ring the owner and see if they want to lease it out and match the two up,” Mr Mutton said.

“It’s a smooth transaction and they don’t have to go through the process of advertising and open inspections.”

Originally published as How to get approved for a rental application