Viewing a rental property in the fifteen minutes you get

The points below about rental viewings are ordered by how much difference they make, not by how often they get repeated.

Go in with a fixed order

You will get very little time, so decide beforehand which four or five things you will check rather than improvising in the hallway. Start with the things that are expensive or impossible to fix as a tenant: damp, heating, water pressure, security and noise. Leave the decorative questions until last, because they are the ones you can see perfectly well in photographs anyway.

Take a phone, a note of the questions and somebody else if possible, since two people notice roughly twice as much. Where a block viewing is running, arrive early and stay to the end, which is when the agent finally has time to answer properly.

The physical checks that matter

Run the hot tap and the shower together to test pressure and how long the water takes to arrive at temperature. Turn a radiator on where the season allows, and if it is summer ask what the heating system is and how old it is. Look behind furniture and inside built-in cupboards on external walls, because that is where damp and mould appear before anywhere else.

In practice, open and close the windows, check locks on doors and windows, and note whether ground-floor access looks secure. Check mobile signal in each room and ask what broadband the property can actually get, since remote work makes this a serious constraint.

Noise, light and the neighbours

Stand still and stay quiet for a minute in each main room, which is often the only way to hear traffic, plumbing or the flat above. Ask what is directly above and below, since a flat under a family or above a bar produces a very different life. Look at which direction the main rooms face and how much daylight they actually receive, because photographs are usually taken in the best conditions.

Put simply, check where bins are stored, how refuse is collected and where deliveries go, all of which become weekly irritations if handled badly. Where possible, walk the street at a different time before signing, because a viewing shows the property and not the neighbourhood.

Questions about how it is run

Ask who actually manages the property, whether it is the landlord directly or an agent, and who you call when something breaks. Ask how repairs are reported and what the response has been like, since the honest answer is often visible in how the question lands. Ask how long the previous tenants stayed and why they left, because a rapid turnover usually means something.

Ask what the tenancy length is, whether a break clause exists, and whether the landlord intends to sell in the near future. Ask what is included in the rent and what is not, particularly heating, water, any service charge and parking.

The costs beyond the rent

Ask for an idea of the energy performance and the typical bills, treating the answer as indicative because usage varies hugely between households. Establish which local taxes or charges a tenant is responsible for in your jurisdiction, since this differs from country to country.

Check whether parking is included, permitted or requires a permit, and what visitors are expected to do. Confirm the deposit amount, how it will be protected where a scheme exists, and what other upfront payments are being asked for. Be careful with anything described as an administration or holding fee, since several jurisdictions restrict or prohibit charges of that kind.

Adjust the size of it until it is something you would actually do tired.

Before you commit

Photograph every room, including existing damage, on the day of the viewing, because the record you build early is the one that protects your deposit. Read the tenancy agreement before paying anything, and ask for a copy in advance rather than on the day you sign. Never transfer money for a property you have not seen or to an account provided only over email, as rental fraud follows exactly that pattern.

Check the person letting the property has the right to do so, and be cautious where somebody avoids meeting at the property itself. If you feel rushed into a decision, that is usually a technique rather than a coincidence, and a good property will still be there tomorrow.

Everything above, in order of what to do first

1. Go in with a fixed order. You will get very little time, so decide beforehand which four or five things you will check rather than improvising in the hallway.
2. The physical checks that matter. Run the hot tap and the shower together to test pressure and how long the water takes to arrive at temperature.
3. Noise, light and the neighbours. Stand still and stay quiet for a minute in each main room, which is often the only way to hear traffic, plumbing or the flat above.
4. Questions about how it is run. Ask who actually manages the property, whether it is the landlord directly or an agent, and who you call when something breaks.
5. The costs beyond the rent. Ask for an idea of the energy performance and the typical bills, treating the answer as indicative because usage varies hugely between households.
6. Before you commit. Photograph every room, including existing damage, on the day of the viewing, because the record you build early is the one that protects your deposit.

The takeaway

Bring a checklist, test the systems rather than the decor, ask who fixes things, and photograph everything before you sign anything.

The version you keep doing is the version that works.