How long before moving should I search for a rental property?

How long before moving should I search for a rental property?

Tenants commonly ask how long before their lease expires should they search for another rental property. If you are not in a rental property already this is not problem as you can move once you find a property. But if you are currently renting, you usually have to give one months notice or your lease expires on a specific date and you have to move on or before that date.

If you move before the lease expiry date, you have to pay rent for two properties at the same time. In most cases you cannot move a few days after the lease expires as your landlord the landlords putting the property back on the market to rent.

Three weeks is probably the optimum time to start actively searching and viewing prospective properties. The problem with starting to view properties 5 or 6 weeks before you are ready to move is that should you find the rental property you want too early in your search, your new landlord will not be prepared to hold the property for 5 or 6 weeks for you. You can of course move before you have to vacate your existing rental property or start to pay the rent on your new property before you move from your existing property but in both cases you will be paying rent on the double.

Your existing landlord needs to know in advance when you are moving so the can prepare to rent the property again so starting to view properties 3 weeks before you need to move actually only gives you about 2 weeks to find a suitable property. You will need to find a property within 2 weeks to allow at least a week for the landlord or agent to check your references and prepare the lease agreement.