Bath or Bristol? Bath is compact and walkable, and most of the rental stock sits in Georgian conversions inside a World Heritage site. That means period character, but also older buildings, limited parking, and very few large family homes coming to market at any one time. Expect to move quickly when something suitable appears. Bristol is much larger and gives you real choice — Clifton for period elegance, Redland and Cotham for families near good schools, Harbourside for new-build apartments. Prices span a wider range, and if you commute to Bath by train it's twelve minutes door to door. What's changed in the UK rental market Since 1 May 2026, fixed-term tenancies no longer exist in England. Every new tenancy is periodic and open-ended, and tenants can give two months' notice at any point. In practice this makes UK renting far more flexible than it used to be — you are no longer locked into a twelve-month commitment. The same reforms capped rent in advance at one month. For overseas tenants this cuts both ways: you can no longer secure a property by paying six or twelve months upfront, which was the standard workaround for anyone without a UK credit history. What landlords will ask for Most will want referencing — typically evidence of annual income around thirty times the monthly rent — plus a UK-based guarantor. If you have neither, a professional guarantor service is now the practical route, and we can point you to providers we've worked with. The security deposit is capped by law at five weeks' rent, or six weeks where the annual rent is £50,000 or more. It must be protected in a government-approved scheme within thirty days. Where we come in Overseas applicants get turned down constantly, not because they can't afford the rent, but because their paperwork doesn't fit a standard referencing form. We prepare the file properly, explain it to the landlord, and handle the parts that assume you already live here — bank account, utilities, council tax registration.........