Renting Out a Flat — What to Include in Your Ad

A rental listing competes with dozens of similar flats in the same neighbourhood. The flat that gets viewings booked in days, rather than weeks, is the one that answers every applicant’s checklist up front instead of forcing them to message and ask. Here is what to put in the ad, in the order that works.

Lead with the bare facts in the title

Format: [Bedrooms] + [Neighbourhood / postcode area] + [Standout feature] + [Price]. “2-bed flat, Northgate, balcony, £1,250/month” tells the applicant whether to click in under two seconds. Generic titles like “Lovely flat available now” force them to open the ad to find out anything, and most won’t.

The must-have fields, in the description

• Monthly rent and exactly what it includes — council tax, water, internet, parking.
• Deposit amount and which scheme it’s protected under.
• Minimum and maximum tenancy term. If you want a 12-month tenant, say so.
• Available from — an exact date, not “soon.”
• Furnished or unfurnished — if part-furnished, list which items stay.
• Pets, smokers, students, professionals, sharers. Be explicit about what you accept.
• EPC rating if the local jurisdiction requires it.
• Bills: roughly what a tenant should budget for utilities.

Listings missing any of these get four out of five enquiries asking exactly that question, which wastes everyone’s time. Putting it all in the ad turns the message you receive into a viewing request rather than a follow-up Q&A.

Describe the flat in three short paragraphs

Paragraph one: layout. How many bedrooms, what size roughly, single or double, separate kitchen or open plan, bathroom configuration. Paragraph two: the building and area. Floor, lift, parking, garden access, what’s within ten minutes’ walk. Paragraph three: condition and recent work. Newly painted, new boiler, refitted bathroom, original windows, double-glazed throughout.

Resist the temptation to write “cosy” for “small” or “character” for “dated.” Honest descriptions filter to applicants who actually want what you have; flowery descriptions attract people who’ll be disappointed at the viewing and waste both sides’ time.

Photos: more is fine, but in this order

Eight to fifteen photos. Order matters because the first three set expectations:

1. Best room in the flat — usually the living room from the corner that shows the most floor.
2. Kitchen — clean countertops, no clutter, daylight if possible.
3. Main bedroom — bed made, no personal items visible.
4. Second bedroom, then bathroom.
5. Any standout feature: balcony view, garden, fireplace.
6. Building exterior and street view.
7. Floor plan if you have one — even a rough sketch with dimensions is hugely valuable.

Open curtains, switch on lights, declutter every surface, and shoot during the brightest part of the day. Empty flats photograph better than lived-in ones; if it’s currently occupied, ask the tenants to tidy and step out for an hour.

What to leave out

Personal details about why you’re renting (downsizing, divorce, emigration) don’t add anything for the applicant and occasionally invite negotiation. The neighbourhood’s less flattering bits don’t need to be in the ad — honest applicants will ask, and lying when they do is a quick way to lose a tenancy and earn a complaint.

Screening applicants

Once enquiries arrive, ask three questions before booking a viewing:

1. Are you currently employed and what’s your monthly income? You want roughly 2.5× the rent.
2. How many people will be living in the flat, and are there pets or smokers?
3. When were you looking to move in, and what term?

If the answers fit your terms, book a viewing slot. If they don’t, decline politely — trying to bend the criteria mid-search rarely ends well, and you owe applicants a quick honest answer.

Watch for common red flags

• Applicants who want to pay several months up front, sight unseen, with no employer reference.
• Anyone unwilling to be referenced or provide ID before signing.
• “Can we move in tonight?” energy — a tenant who needed somewhere yesterday usually has a complicated reason behind that.

None of these are automatic disqualifiers, but each is worth a careful conversation before the contract is signed.