Property guide
How to get alerts for new rental listings in the UK
In busy areas a rental that is priced sensibly can attract viewings soon after it is listed. Hearing about it early gives you more choice over when to view and a better chance of being among the first to enquire. This guide covers how to get notified about new rentals, and how to make the alert accurate.
By Snaffla · Published
Why does hearing about a rental early help?
Letting agents often book viewings from the first enquiries they receive, so being early can give you a choice of slots rather than whatever is left. It also gives you time to ask your questions and get your paperwork ready before you view.
That matters most in areas where many people are looking at the same time. In a quieter area, speed matters less than seeing every new listing.
Can the property portals send you alerts themselves?
Property portals generally let you save a search and ask to be emailed about new matches. It costs nothing and is a sensible first step.
What you can filter on and how quickly an alert arrives is each portal's own decision and can change, so check the options on the portal itself rather than relying on a fixed expectation.
What are the limits of relying on the portals' own alerts?
A saved search on one portal covers that portal's listings only, so you set up and manage a search on each one you want to watch. Agents often advertise a rental on several portals, so you may be told about the same one more than once, and a rental advertised on only one portal is easy to miss if you are not watching it.
How do you make a rental alert accurate?
A rental alert that is too broad fills with places you would never take, and one that is too narrow hides the one you would. Start specific, then loosen it once you have seen the results.
- Choose rent, so sale listings do not appear.
- Pick a town or postcode and a distance you would genuinely accept, such as a realistic commute.
- Set the highest monthly rent you would really pay, and a minimum if you want to leave out listings that are clearly something else.
- Set the number of bedrooms you need.
- Check the first few days of results and adjust the search if the wrong places keep appearing.
How does Snaffla watch rentals?
A rental search on Snaffla takes a place and distance, a price range and a number of bedrooms. It watches the portals that cover your area, PropertyPal in Northern Ireland and Rightmove and OnTheMarket elsewhere in the UK, and sends a push notification when a new rental that matches is listed. A property search uses one search slot, however many portals it watches.
If the same rental appears on more than one portal, Snaffla tries to show it once rather than alert you twice. When you first create a search, the rentals already listed fill your feed without sending alerts, and after that you are alerted to new ones.
Each alert shows the rent as the portal lists it and links to the original listing, and you contact the agent yourself. Snaffla never asks for your login on any portal.
What should you have ready when you find a rental?
Having your questions and paperwork ready means you can enquire straight away. It is also worth being careful before you commit.
- Know what you want to ask: what the rent includes, how long the tenancy is and what deposit is required.
- View the property, or have someone you trust view it, before you pay anything.
- Be wary of anyone who asks for money before you have seen the property.
Set up your property alert
Save a search with a place, a price range and the bedrooms you need, and get a push notification when a matching rental or home for sale is listed.