Krystal1

Hello.

We are hoping to move mid 2026 from Australia to Scotland. We are wondering if anyone found a way to get a rental or buy a property from Australia before arriving in the UK so we have somewhere to go straight off the plane.
If we can avoid it, we would love to not be in a hotel/holiday home when we arrive as we are a family of 5.

Thank you.

SkiBoySpouse

When we relocated, AirBnb for long-term rental worked for us. Granted, we already own our house in the UK but are doing extensive renovations, so knew that we needed somewhere decent and nearby for 5-6 months.

Pollyana

No idea on buying, but renting is perfectly possible. I did it moving Brisbane to Brighton last year. I created a relationship with estate agents in the area I was looking at by emailing them, introducing myself and outlining my plans and financial situation. All but one were happy to entertain the idea. When I found a flat I liked, the agent did a video tour for me online so that I knew the photos online were accurate, and we sorted out everything by email, with electronic transfer of funds.
I did book a hotel for a few days after my arrival until I could get food etc and organise some furniture - having bought from a local company, again exchanging emails from Aus, the furniture was delivered 2 days after I got home.
Worked incredibly smoothly!

It helps if you have friends/Family at home who could view for you, also if you can say you know the area, know where to avoid etc that helps convince the agents you know what you're doing!

C.2s

It's good to read the positive comments above...and now I am going to be a bit negative but only for the sake of being realistic (I hope). The rental market in many places in the UK is overheated nowadays . It's all got a bit ridiculous in the last few years. Of course it's regional, but there's a shortage of rental property across the country and we found it extremely difficult to even get viewings (in Derbyshire and Yorkshire). My daughter's experience in Dundee and Glasgow is similar.

You can subscribe to the agents' emails and updates on rightmove etc, but often we found they would say that they had 20-25 viewings lined up even if we rang them as soon as we saw an email with a potential property. So don't be surprised if it's quite challenging. I'd definitely build in some flexibility in your timescales.

Having said that perhaps the fact that we have a cat made it more difficult, because lots of landlords won't accept pets. So it'll be important for you to convince any landlord that they should "take a chance" on someone who's coming from abroad with no credit history (presumably?). And you might have to offer to pay several months rent in advance.

Also I think it depends what price level you can afford, as there's a sort of ceiling that the average single person or couple can afford (just about) for one or two bed properties, and in that price range it's extremely competitive and the properties aren't great...yet if you can afford 25% more a month more it seems that one can get a property that's about twice as good and they're easier to view. And I guess if you are looking for 4 bedrooms you might already be thinking about that higher price range.

In the end we decided to buy once we worked out that 12 months rent for a flat would be equivalent to about 10% of the cost of buying a similar flat, and therefore in 5 years you would pay half the cost of buying. (We're fortunate we are able to do so)

tdrinker

I also found it difficult, and had to compromise on certain things including location (this was looking from the UK, not from overseas). I wasn't looking for a family home, and that market may be different. It's probably competitive, though. You mention Scotland, and from what I've read the SNP's rent controls have backfired and made the situation worse there. Market competitiveness will vary by location, and the situation may have changed by mid-2026. Further, both Scotland and the UK will probably have different governments and they may change renting legislation, so keep an eye on this.

If Plan A is to follow Pollyana's route (accepting that renting without viewing carries additional risks), have a Plan B (Airbnb?).

Pollyana

I must admit I had the advantage of knowing the area well, having lived here many years ago, and kept u with local news etc.
Renting unseen does have risks, coming from Queensland where most rentals have outrageously false photos (my old unit was re-let with photos from 15 years ago!!) , which is why I got the agent to do a live video for me - she was actually showing someone else around at the time, and it extended to opening cupboards and drawers!
I didn't just subscribe to circular emails, I actually emailed the agents directly, outlining what I was after and asking if they would deal with me, this was before asking abut any properties, so I didn't bother looking at any who had an unco-operative agent!
Yes its harder now than a few years back, same as any other country, I'm sure I'd have found more places a few years ago, but I did find a lot in my fairly low price bracket when I came home last March. I did take the place on two weeks before I flew home - extra rent to pay out, but I think it was worth it, having secured the lease for a year.

So I'd echo the advice on here - be realistic, and be flexible, but also be determined!

brits1

Hi, if you know the area well and your fairly certainly you want to be in that area then I would buy, why waste money on rentals etc, we had an “approved mortgage” from Halifax BS, we were granted the mortgage while living overseas in Australia which Halifax were fully aware of, we did a search of the area (which we knew) and put an offer on a house which was excepted but did fall through as the sellers had changed their minds about relocating, this was back in 2009 and we then decided to stay an extra year in Aus and move to a different area completely of the UK upon our return but a friends of a friend has just bought a home from NZ they are returning to the UK next year and they have used money and a
mortgage to fund the home buying. Good luck

Helen1964

One point to bear in mind if you do decide to buy from abroad (personally I'd rather stick my stuff in storage and do Airbnb for a few months while I look around but that's just me), is the extra 2% stamp duty payable on a house purchase in the UK if you have not been present in the UK for at least 183 days during the 12 months before the purchase.

This is in addition to any stamp duty premium you may have to pay because you haven't yet sold your existing primary residence at the time when you purchase the new home (the fact the existing primary residence is in Australia is irrelevant).

Both of these stamp duty "premiums" can be claimed back subject to certain conditions so do check the HMRC site when trying to work out your timeline for the move.

For example, as regards the 2% stamp duty premium on non-resident purchases, you can claim a refund in the following circumstances:

"Individual buyers are able to claim a refund of the 2% surcharge if, after the purchase, they are present in the UK for at least 183 days during any continuous 365-day period that falls within the 2 year period:

• beginning 364 days before the effective date of the transaction
• ending 365 days after the effective date of the transaction

If the transaction has more than one buyer, refunds are only possible if all the buyers are individuals and satisfy this residence rule, although the continuous 365-day period can be different for each buyer. This includes the rules relating to spouses and civil partners."

tdrinker

The incoming Labour government say they will increase the surcharge to 3%. Whether they do (probably), the applicable date and whether the reclaim rules are amended are things to keep an eye on.

Helen1964

I had no idea.Thanks for the warning Tdrinker!

theoldgit

We moved from Thailand to the UK last year, we picked Eastbourne as our new home as that where I lived before I started a forty year career with the Home office, and as a place we visited regularly, it was somewhat of a confort zone.
I contacted numerous rental agents prior to out move, with only one bothering to respond, and that was to tell me that the rental market was so overscribed and we needed to wait until we arrived to start looking, it seemed there were for more prospective renters then there were properties available, and agents didn't really try that hard to let proprties.
After staying with friennds for a few days following our arrival in the UK, we booked into a Premier Inn for a week with the intention of trying to source a property. As luck would have it we saw a suitable property minutes from our hotel, and called the agent. He was a bit stand offish at first advising that he was about to close the viewing list, but asked a few personal questions and also if we met the income requirements, he then agreed to show us round the property. It suited our needs and we signed a lease a couple of days later, and we're still there.