Hello Everybody -

I will be traveling to Sydney in the first week of march to find a job in Sydney and settle there. I would like to know how to go about finding rented accommodation in Sydney, looking for cheap rents at least for the initial stay till i get a job. Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers

You could search in www gumtree com au Free Local Classifieds | Stuff for Sale, Jobs, Cars, Property & More | Gumtree Sydney[/url] to find some shared house.

It's not possible to rent a property independently before you have stable income from a job.

Also there are some in www domain com au . Search "share" part

Good luck.

To start , you have to share with others because you don't have any proof to show you can pay the rental.

gumtree
domain

are popular website to search

(1) Whats the proof usually they ask for when renting?
(2) Does Bank Balance would work?

Cheers
Rathna

it may help , but quite little. Also you need proof you have consistent cash flow to pay the ongoing rental. The agent need some record history that you DID rent a property and you DID pay the rental on time . But obviously you have nothing as you are new.

The agent tend to rent the property to others with good record history or stable income job . That's why you are not their first choice.

To persuade agent, you may pay a big sum of rental such a half a year in advance. It's hard for agent to refuse so many cash. Of course if may be harder for you .

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I'm facing a similar issue.

If you've been renting in the UK, would a reference letter from your current landlord help? If not, how long would you have to share with others for to establish a history?

Thanks a million?

Sydney is Australia's tightest accommodation market re availability [ lack of it ] and agents/landlords can be choosey, a reference from previous landlord/agent will not hurt but it will be the financial aspects as much as anything that are needed.

It is not impossible for a new immigrant to get their own rental as soon as they have a job or have substantial funds available, but certainly be easier [ and cheaper ] to take a share if that is suitable.

Flatmates.com.au - Australia's biggest free site for flatmates, share house, share accommodation in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. is also another site you can check and if you find a good flatmate they can be of great help in finding out about a new location.

There's no set time in which to establish history though it will help if you get your name on the lease of wherever you share and then get a feel for the competiveness of the rental market.

If you're looking for somewhere for a few days while you get over the jetlag, there's plenty of backpacker hostels up around the Central Railway Station area and Alfred Park about the cheapest for a single room if that's what you're after.
It's a quieter hostel at the southern side of the RS and even booking a twin or triple share room, you might get a room to yourself.
You'll find it and others on BUG - the Backpackers' Ultimate guide to budget travel in Australia , YHA Central [ much larger ] and YHA Railway Square on northern side but more expensive.

You can get a train in from the airport to Central or they have shuttle mini buses at the airport that'll take you direct to any hostel a little cheaper.