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Tips for tenants: How to get your foot in the door of your next rental

Raine and Horne Murraylands’ Milaina Gregory offers her advice on how to put together an application that will catch a landlord’s eye.

Peri Strathearn

Mar 7, 2024 — 3 min read

This sponsored story is brought to you by Raine and Horne Murraylands.

Milaina Gregory wants to help make sure your rental application will catch a landlord’s eye. Photo: Raine and Horne Murraylands.

Life is challenging for tenants in the current rental market, with vacant properties in short supply around the Murraylands.

Raine and Horne property manager Milaina Gregory wants to help.

She has sat down with Murray Bridge News this week to list some of the things tenants can do to put their best foot forward when building up a rental history or applying for a new property.

She won’t be the one deciding, who gets in, of course – that is up to individual landlords.

But, as someone who works with those landlords every day, she has developed a sense for the things that impress them, things that will help your application catch their eye.

Include everything you need with your application

Milaina’s first tip is an obvious one, but one that can trip you up if you’re not careful: make sure your application includes all the information a landlord has asked for.

That might include copies of photo ID, pay slips or references from previous landlords or property managers.

“As soon as we receive an application, we’ll start processing it,” Milaina says.

“If we’ve got everything there, it might mean less of a wait time for you to hear back about a property.

“If you’ve rented privately before, through an agency or a landlord, definitely include them in your application.”

Maintain a good rental history

This comes down mainly to two factors: taking good care of your rental property and paying rent on time.

Landlords just want to know that their property – a valuable investment, which you’ll know if you’ve ever owned or looked at buying one – is being looked after.

That doesn’t mean it needs to be spotless all the time; but you will hopefully be able to clean it regularly and keep the garden fairly neat and tidy.

Nobody is perfect, of course – accidents happen and unexpected expenses can arise from time to time.

That leads us to Milaina’s next tip…

Communicate well with your property manager

“If you do damage the property, just tell us,” Milaina says.

“We’d rather be told about it and help you get it fixed, rather than going to an inspection and finding damage.

“We understand that life happens: sometimes we’ll attend an inspection, (the tenant) will say they’ve had a tough week, they haven’t done as thorough a clean as they would like, and we’ll understand.

“If you need time to pay rent or a water bill, just let us know and we can let the owner know – that way they’ll be in the loop.

“They’ll be more understanding if they’re made aware.”

First impressions count at showings

If you’re in the hunt for a new property, it can’t hurt to make a positive impression on the agents who are showing you around.

Make sure you’re on time to any showing.

If you’re running late, let the person know.

Don’t get discouraged

Finally, like we said up the top: the decision about who to rent a property to is made by a landlord.

Some landlords simply look to maximise their financial return; but others prefer to lease to families, pensioners or young people, and to know they’re helping someone out.

Landlords can’t discriminate against pet owners any more, either, thanks to a change in South Australian law in mid-2023.

It’s a competitive market at the moment, there’s no doubt about that, but Milaina says every prospective tenant has a chance.

“If you’re fulfilling your obligations as a tenant … taking care of a property, paying your rent on time and, if there are any problems, keeping (your property manager) informed and updated, there shouldn’t be any issues,” she says.

“We have a duty to our owners, but also to our tenants – we want to make sure everyone is happy.”

More information

The team at Raine and Horne Murraylands are here to help you find your next rental property, or to advise you on any real estate matter.

Visit www.raineandhorne.com.au/murraylands, call 8532 3833 or drop into the office at 4 Seventh Street, Murray Bridge.

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