Renting a House in Adelaide and South Australia

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One of the first things on your to do list on arriving in Adelaide will be to find a new home. Many migrants opt to rent for at least the first six months. It is definitely a good idea to rent initially to give yourself time to explore some of the suburbs on your shortlist and make you you make the right decision before committing to buying or building a property.

Like everything, rentals can vary a lot depending on the location, age of the area, local amenities etc. As with buying you can view available properties by area, budget, number of bedrooms etc through websites such as Real Estate and Domain. Many realtors will list the property descriptions, price, photos and location map. You can then call them to arrange a viewing if an open is not already listed on the property.

Once you have found a property that you like you must submit an application. In some of the more popular suburbs or in the case of particularly nice rentals you may find yourself up against quite a few other people wanting the same house. It is a good idea to include a letter to the landlord explaining why you like the property so much along with some info on your family and any references you may have to help your application.

For properties under $300 you will pay 4 weeks rent as a bond, for properties over this it is 6 weeks bond. This is held by a central government run agency and a receipt will be issued to you. You will also need to pay 2 weeks rent in advance plus arrange toe connection of your utilities. The bond is repaid to you less any damages etc when you vacate the property.