We want your property advert to attract as many good-quality tenants as possible, so we’ve pulled together seven key areas where you can improve it, with a simple guide for each one.
The good news is you don’t need to hand over a large chunk of your rental income to a traditional high-street letting agent just to get noticed.
A bit of time spent getting things right can go a long way. From better photos to setting the right price, these steps will help your property stand out and give you the best chance of finding the right tenant quickly.
- Add high-quality photos of your property
- Add a floor plan
- Assess your rental price
- Advertise your property widely
- Time your entry into the rental market
- Make applications simple with Rent Now
- Bonus tip: Never miss an enquiry with accompanied viewings
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1. Add high-quality photos of your property
In a crowded online market, your photos are often the first thing prospective tenants notice. Your lead image is especially important, as it’s the photo that appears in search results. If it doesn’t grab someone’s attention straight away, they’re likely to scroll past and view another listing.
Before taking any photos, make sure the property is clean, tidy and well presented. Clear worktops, open curtains and blinds to maximise natural light, and remove everyday items such as clothes airers, bins and personal belongings. Small touches can have a big impact on how spacious and inviting a property feels.
Although modern smartphones can take excellent photos, they don’t always cope well with the limited space and lighting conditions found indoors. Professional photography can help your property look its best, attracting more views and increasing the chances of finding a tenant quickly.
With our professional photography service, a local property photographer will visit your home, take a range of high-quality photos using specialist equipment, and professionally edit the images before they’re added to your listing. It’s a simple, affordable way to help your advert stand out.
2. Add a floor plan
Today’s tenants want more than just photos. They want to understand how the space is laid out, how the rooms connect, and whether the property will work for their needs.
Without a floor plan, some prospective tenants may assume the layout is being omitted for a reason, whether that’s a particularly small bedroom, an awkward living space or an unusual room arrangement.
Including a floor plan helps tenants make a more informed decision before arranging a viewing. They can check whether their furniture is likely to fit, see how the property flows, and decide if the layout suits their lifestyle.
As a result, you’re more likely to attract viewers who are genuinely interested, while reducing time spent on viewings that were never going to lead anywhere.
If you book our professional photography service, a professionally produced floor plan is included as standard. That means you’ll receive both high-quality photos and an accurate floor plan in a single visit, helping your advert stand out and giving tenants the information they’re looking for.
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3. Assess your rental price
Getting the rent right is one of the most important parts of marketing your property. Set the price too high and you may struggle to attract enquiries, leaving the property empty for longer than necessary.
Set it too low and you could miss out on rental income that may be difficult to recover later. That’s why it’s worth taking the time to understand what similar properties in your area are achieving before you advertise.
Our Rent Calculator can help. Using millions of current and historical data points, it provides an accurate rental estimate based on local market conditions, giving you a reliable starting point when deciding what to charge.
Once you’ve settled on a target figure, it can be worth thinking about how the price appears in search results. Many property portals use price bands, so listing a property at £795 instead of £800 could help it appear in more searches while also looking slightly better value to prospective tenants.
It’s also worth keeping an open mind about who you rent to. Being flexible about tenant types, whether that’s pet owners, students, couples, sharers or people receiving benefits, can significantly increase the number of enquiries you receive and help you find a suitable tenant more quickly.
4. Advertise your property widely
If your OpenRent listing is already generating strong interest, it can still be worth widening the net to make sure you reach every suitable tenant.
Start with the basics by sharing your advert link with your own network. Posting it on social media and in local community or housing groups you’re part of can help you tap into people who are actively looking for somewhere nearby, or who may know someone who is.
Most tenants will still begin their search on the major property websites, so it’s important your listing is visible where they are already browsing. When you list with OpenRent, your advert can also be published across the UK’s leading property portals for a single, upfront fee. This extends your reach while keeping everything managed in one place.
Even when enquiries are already coming in, broader exposure can help you compare demand, attract the strongest applicants and move quickly to secure the right tenant.
5. Time your entry into the rental market
When you list your property can have a real impact on how quickly you find the right tenant.
New listings tend to attract the most attention on property portals, as they are prioritised in search results and alerts. That means you often get your best visibility right at the start, so it’s worth making the most of that initial period.
As a general guide, many landlords aim to list around four weeks before the property is available. This gives enough time to build interest, carry out viewings and complete referencing without feeling rushed.
The ideal timing does vary depending on your local market and the type of tenant you’re trying to reach. In fast-moving areas like London, tenants are often looking to move quickly, so shorter lead times are common. For student lets, the planning cycle can be much longer, with many tenants searching some months in advance to secure accommodation for the next academic year.
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6. Make applications simple with Rent Now
Once your listing has attracted the right tenant, the key is to keep things moving and avoid unnecessary delays.
Traditional letting processes can feel slow and fiddly, with plenty of emails, paperwork and back-and-forth, and it’s easy for good applicants to lose interest or go for another property that moves a bit quicker.
OpenRent’s Rent Now service is designed to keep everything straightforward and fully digital for both landlords and tenants. You can invite tenants to place a secure holding deposit directly through your listing. From there, you can arrange tenant referencing to check affordability and credit history.
Once everything is approved, a legally sound tenancy agreement (fully in line with the changes brought in by the Renters’ Rights Act or other local legislation) is generated and signed online by both parties. Initial rent payments are handled through the platform, and the security deposit is protected in a government-backed scheme.
The result is a smoother, more efficient move-in process, with less admin and fewer points of delay, while still keeping everything fully compliant.
Bonus tip: Never miss an enquiry with accompanied viewings
If you’re working long hours, live some distance from your rental property, or are away for a few days, arranging viewings can quickly become a bit of a juggling act.
The problem is that good tenants don’t tend to wait around for long. If you can only offer limited viewing slots, you may find that interested applicants move on to something more flexible.
In a competitive market, even a short delay can make the difference between securing a tenant quickly and ending up with an avoidable void period.
That’s where our accompanied viewings service can help. For an affordable fee, a local professional will handle access, carry out the viewings on your behalf and provide you with clear feedback afterwards. It ensures enquiries are properly followed up and gives you the space to focus on choosing the right tenant without having to rearrange your week or plans.