Even once you’ve found a property to rent abroad it’s a long (and often winding) road to finally signing a rental contract in a different country. So we know a trick or two! We’ve drawn upon our personal experiences and knowledge of the international rental market to bring you this handy guide to renting abroad
Deposit
This is a given when renting. Typically, the deposit is equal to a month’s rent. Payment is required before you can get the keys to the place.
Documents to send
With the HousingAnywhere chat, you and your landlord can exchange documents and files with the attachment feature, meaning it’s possible to have a copy of your signed contract before moving
- This is especially useful when applying for visas or residence permits you may need when relocating.
Your duties and rights
As a tenant, you will be expected to behave in a certain way and fulfil your end of the rental agreement.
- Most common tenant rights and duties include: paying all agreed rental fees on time, adhering to property rules, paying for any damages made and providing advance notice of leaving the property.
Creating your account
Sign up from the homepage
- Edit your profile
- Have a recent and representative profile picture of yourself
- Let advertisers know a little bit about your story
- Fill out your date of birth so that advertisers can know if you’re within their preferred tenant age range
- Create or update your description
Accommodation type
The HousingAnywhere search filters allow you to filter on Private rooms (could either be in a house or an apartment), Shared rooms, Studios and Apartments.
Visas and Permits
Most common identification an incoming international will need in a new country is either a student visa or a work permit.
Choosing your preferred accommodation type
On HousingAnywhere.com, you can filter your search on several property types. Make sure you understand the difference between all the types before booking to make sure you’re comparing the price to what you’re actually spending on a rental.
Rental contracts and documents
Legally-binding and life-saving, everyone needs a rental contract
Boost your chances by contacting several advertisers
Draft a standard opening that you use per advertiser, and tweak if need be
- Utilize our inbox management tools to stay on track of all your conversations
- Here’s a template opening message for inspiration
- Hi (make sure you change the name), I’m really interested in this listing. I like the X, Y and Z (mention some unique things about the listing to show you’re serious).
Ask (stupid) questions
If an advertiser isn’t answering your questions in full, then they might not be a helpful landlord down the line.
- Carpe DMs
- It allows you to communicate directly with advertisers within a secure messaging system, much like WhatsApp, Facebook messenger and WeChat
Payment Requests
HousingAnywhere supports secure online payments beyond bookings.
Apartment
Clarify how many bedrooms are in the apartment before booking anything, as ‘one room apartment’ can mean a studio in some countries and a one-bedroom apartment in others.
Understanding rental contracts
Only sign a rental contract once you have fully understood its contents, checked your name and details are spelled correctly and have agreed to its terms
The booking process explained
There are 2 ways to initiate a booking: send a booking request or receive an invitation to book.
- If you send a request to the advertiser, they will have 48 hours to accept your request and you will be charged the first month’s rent and one-off service fee. If they don’t, the request is automatically cancelled and the place is yours.
- If they invite you to book, finalize the booking, decline the invitation or change the requested dates.
Getting Started
Once you’ve settled on a rental budget, accommodation type and have found some promising housing options through filters and search alerts, you can start reaching out to advertisers.
Upfront costs
On top of your rent, and before you can even set up monthly installments, there are going to be some upfront payments you will have to pay
Honesty is the best policy
Start with upfront and honest conversations
- Make sure all parties (you, the landlord and any other tenants) are crystal clear about the contract, the date of termination, what happens in the event of a late payment, and how the property will be maintained
Be honest
Expand upon your profile description
- Be upfront about your expectations
- Offer a little more about your background
- Share your habits
- Ensure the property is right for you and the advertiser will want to ensure that you’re right for the property
- Do not faking anything
Good communication
Be clear and proactive in your communication with your landlord
- Email is a good way to communicate because it strikes the right balance of personal and professional
- Copy your roommate if you’re living in a shared property
- If you’re not getting enough response, ring them up if necessary
48-Hour safeguard policy
If you have an upcoming payment to make but you haven’t officially moved into the accommodation yet (e.g. a deposit), then you can still fulfill the payment and we will apply our 48-hour safeguard to your money.
- We securely hold any payments that are sent prior to move-in and will only payout the landlord 48 hours after you’ve arrived at the property.
How to juggle conversations
Only send that official booking request if you’re willing to move into that place and drop all other leads if accepted.
- Be mindful of that fact that the 48-hour booking window is not a reservation; other users may book the listing during this time.
One-time service fee
HousingAnywhere charges a small one-off service fee when you book, equal to approximately 25% of one month’s rent.
- It’s completely free to search for accommodation and chat to advertisers on the platform; the service fee is charged just once, and only once you book your new home.
Rank your favorite listings
Have a list of the top 5 listings you find on the platform, then favorite them
- You can favorite and unfavorite listings, and view them all in your “Favorites” tab
- This makes it super simple to individually chase up each listing
Registration
Book an appointment at the city registration office well in advance
- Residency requirements vary from country to country, but for a lot of European nations, government regulations require people to register with the local government/municipality if you’re staying in the country for more than three months
Reminders
You’ll receive a payment request from your landlord via the HousingAnywhere chat. Pay it instantly or pay it instantly via credit card.
Security
None of your payments go directly to the advertiser until 48 hours have passed since you move in.
- You are protected from scams as payments are transferred via a secure platform (HousingAnywhere).
- Keeping payments to the platform means keeping your rent safe.
Types of contract
Fixed-period contract: The end date of the agreement is stated and it is not possible to terminate the contract any earlier than this date.
Securely pay your rent online
When renting abroad, keeping track of your finances and staying on top of rental payments is crucial.
- HousingAnywhere offers a variety of payment features to help you stay in control of your money while renting abroad.
- Here are some of the payment features the company offers.
Bills
If utility bills are not included in the rent, you will need to pay them on top of the rent if they are excluded
- Bear in mind that excluded bills aren’t always charged on a monthly basis
- Be prepared to adjust your budget as your lifestyle and needs change
How much rent can you afford?
Calculate how much you will need to spend on food insurance, health insurance, transport, entertainment/ leisure, and any other ongoing costs you’ll have.
- Approximately – what you can allocate for monthly rent. You can apply this figure to all filtered accommodation searches.
Setting your rental budget
Properly managing your finances abroad will have a direct and positive impact on your experience.
House
Usually full of more character, and with a greater potential for really feeling like ‘home’, a house is a popular choice for many making the move abroad.
- A shared house is attractive to second-year, masters and PhD students in particular, because a house offers a bit more independence from campus.
Studio
More affordable and more available
Schengen Visa
This is a collection of countries in Europe which allows the free movement of people through its member nations, without the need of a passport.
- Much like Student Visas, if you are moving to an EU country and already come from a nation within the European Union, EEA or Switzerland, then you will not need to apply for a work permit.
How to make yourself standout
Create a winning HousingAnywhere account
Students
Typically, if you hail from an EU nation, the EEA (European Economic Area) or Switzerland, you usually do not need a visa to study in another EU country.
Payment Overview
Keep track of past and future payments in your automatically-updated payment overview
- Filter your payment overview to find particular payment requests from your landlord
- Status: Paid requests, Unpaid requests, Paid Out, Overdue requests, All requests
- Collected: you’ve completed the payment and we’re holding the funds until 48 hours after your move-in.
- Paid Out: we have released the payment to your landlord.
