Renting a property is an important decision, so we offer a dedicated viewing with enough time to get a feel for the place and ask any questions you may have. We also minimise the number of viewings to avoid disappointments, as we know how heartbreaking it is to be turned down. 

To book a viewing, you will need to provide some details and answer some questions about your household, your references (past and present), and your requirements. If you are a good fit for the property and pass the vetting stage, you will be scheduled to view it.

Viewings are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis, depending on the availability of viewing slots with the incumbent tenants and/or our agent's availability to meet you at the property.

If you like the place, you will be invited to apply at the advertised rental price, and your application will be submitted to the landlord for their final decision. See how is the Application Process below, which explains the criteria we follow to assess your suitability.

If you like the property and you pre-qualify, you can submit an application. This will be sent to the landlord for their final decision.

When only one applicant is interested in the property after the viewings, we submit their details to the landlord for approval. If several applicants are interested in the property, we conduct a random draw on Random.org. The results will be available online to all applicants and the landlord. This way, every applicant has the same chance of getting the place, and no arbitrary factor clouds the decision.

If you are selected, you will be asked to pay a Holding Deposit of around one week's rent. This is fully refundable, provided the application is successful.  If an applicant withdraws, the Holding Deposit will not be returned.  If the tenancy is declined due to insufficient references or credit checks, the Holding Deposit will be returned minus an administration fee of £50, and the application will be declined.

The referencing includes checking the employer (accountant if self-employed), the landlord (current or previous), and the affordability test. We will also check credit record, ID and Right to Rent in the UK, and we require proof of address and proof of income in all cases. To afford the rent, your annual income should be at least 30 times the rent. A guarantor will be required in case references are missing or deemed insufficient. 

We rely on our referencing provider, Homelet, for referencing, credit checks, and affordability checks.

In general, we require tenants to pay a dilapidations deposit equal to one month’s rent or five weeks, depending on the landlord's prerogatives.

You can get the Gas supplier details via https://findmysupplier.energy and call South West England Western Power Distribution on 0845 601 5972 for Electricity supply.

Once you are in, you don't pay anything unless you need to change or terminate your tenancy. A tenancy changeover costs £50 per tenant remaining in the property. This covers some of the costs of changing a tenancy.

We abide by the Tenant Fees Act (2019) and the Renters' Rights Act 2025.

To be in line with the requirements of the Bristol City Council and the West of England Code of Good Management Practice, we apply the following guidelines:

In case of an emergency, we endeavour to respond immediately to the request and, whenever possible, resolve the issue within 24h to protect your home from further damage and/or the health and safety of tenants.

For urgent repairs affecting material comfort, e.g., loss of hot water and heating (not due to boiler pressure), power outage, fridge or washing machine failure, serious roof leak, etc., will be dealt with within 5 working days. In all cases, we will attempt to repair/replace the items as soon as possible.

Other repairs are dealt with generally within 20 days.

In all cases, the repair will depend on the contractor's availability, delivery dates, etc.

We are members of the Property Redress Scheme - the PRS-, and we abide by the Code of Practice of this organisation. Our complaint procedure is compliant with the standard imposed by the Redress Schemes for Lettings Agency Work and Property Management Work (Approval and Designation of Schemes) (England) Order 2013. Please see the enclosed Complaints Procedure.

We will offer our mediation service and endeavour to solve any complaint internally and reach a common ground with the complainant in all cases. Failing that, you will be able to refer your case to the PRS' Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism for assistance, and their final decision will be binding to all parties.

As part of our duty to ensure safety in your home, we carry out a regular Fire Safety Evaluation following the Bristol City Council Fire Safety Standards. This is carried out every three years -or at the onset of every new tenancy- when we manage the property, and for Let Only contracts, unless the landlord has taken their own measures to ensure the safety of the dwelling.

Besides this, we also recommend our tenants to follow the prescriptions of the Advice to Occupiers of Dwellings in Residential Buildings, BS9999:2008, which is extensible to all dwellings in general.

At Rent Happily, we want you to enjoy your home at every moment, and it is important to properly look after it so that it keeps giving you satisfaction over the years. We have compiled a manual for reference where you can find some tips on energy saving, damp & condensation, hygiene, etc, which is available for download.

If anything goes wrong in your dwelling, we are here to help, just get in touch with our dedicated maintenance management software.

As part of our duty to ensure your safety in your new home, we conduct a Risk Assessment for the Legionnaires' disease before you move in, just to make sure everything is in order and the information and amenities are adequate for you to live there. We ask you some standard questions about your lifestyle to assess the level of risk in every single case, and we assess the property with the following Legionnaires' Risk Assessment.

More information about Legionella can be found on our Legionnaires' Leaflet.