Top Tips to Help Your Rental Application Stand Out

With Perth’s vacancy rate falling to its lowest level in 42 years, it’s never been more important for your rental application to stand out (for all the right reasons). Below we have 10 tips of what a leasing manager looks for in an application.

So why is it so tough out there? According to REIWA CEO Cath Hart, the vacancy rate fell to just 0.6 per cent in December, the lowest level since 1980 when the institute began keeping these records.

REIWA considers a balanced rental market to have a vacancy rate of 2.5 to 3.5 per cent, however current stock sits at 0.6% and there hasn’t been a balanced market since September 2019.

There are however, ways to increase your chances of becoming a successful applicant in an increasingly difficult market. Here’s a helpful list of what leasing managers assess in a tenancy application.

Before applying:

1. Make sure you follow the estate agent’s system for submitting applications. At Summit Realty we use “2Apply”. With so many applications for each property, emailed or personally delivered documents won’t be assessed.
2. As a rough guide, aim to apply for rentals where the rental figure is no more than 40% of your total income. This forms part of our assessment as it minimises rent defaults for owners and ensures that the rental amount is affordable for tenants.
3. Make sure you include your three most recent payslips and/or Centrelink statements under the documentation section. These can be requested from your employer or through the Centrelink website or app. Missing information in a busy market means another application will probably be placed above yours.
4. Incomplete applications won’t be sent back to you so it’s important that everything is included and accurate. Don’t forget to include both your current address and previous address so we can complete the necessary two rental references. Providing the accurate names/numbers of the landlord or agency you’ve been renting through is imperative. If you own your current property and your name is on the title of the property, you will not require a rental reference. Make sure that the address on your driver’s licence matches the address on the rental reference section. If you haven’t updated your address since moving, go to the Department of Transport website to get this corrected.
5. All applicants 18 years and over are required to be on the application as applicant 1, applicant 2, etc. This is a requirement so we can carry out the required reference and database checks. Additional applicants will be sent a link to fill out their sections. We can’t commence processing until all the information is received so it’s important to complete it as soon as possible. You will receive a confirmation email once everyone has completed their own details.

After applying:

6. Be mindful that processing applications can take several days. Calling the office multiple times unfortunately won’t change the time that it takes to get in touch with all referees, process all the applications and receive an answer from owners on the approved applicants.
7. In most cases, you should receive a response within 24-48 hours. However, if you haven’t heard from your leasing agent after a few days, it is acceptable to call for an update on the progress of your application.
8. Owners are not required to provide a reason why an application is not successful. We understand this can be frustrating but for this reason we can’t provide feedback on individual applications.
9. If you’re not being successful with new tenancy applications and you’re currently renting, contact your property manager to ask for a copy of your tenancy ledger. Like checking your credit score when applying for finance, this will show any payment arrears which could impact your future rental applications. If you have missed rental payments in the past and have the opportunity to continue renting where you are, prioritise paying rent on time for at least six months.
10. Keep persevering. We understand it can be difficult to secure a rental, so if you’re not accepted for one, visit our website to see if there are any others that might be suitable.

In a hot rental market, sometimes it might just be a small thing that pushes someone else’s application above yours. We hope these tips help you secure your next home.

Have a look at our latest rentals.