The Gold Coast rental accommodation market is a reasonably hot one in that demand is very strong. This could be due to a number of reasons including a growing education system with the Tafe, Bond Univerisity, Griffith Univerisity and various specialised providers increasing their intake each year and the Gold Coast being very transient in nature.
This creates a lot of demand for rental and semi permanent accommodation and this can be seen in rent prices that appear to be on the up and up.
Accommodation prices depend on location, size and features. Most of the studio and apartment rentals are located in the central suburbs ie Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach, Mermaid Beach, Southport, Labrador and as you move out from the center 2br/3br townhouses, units and houses become more common.
Average rent prices for centrally located basic studio apartments or flats would range from 180-250. Basic 2 bedroom flats / units for rent in Broadbeach etc would range from 220 - 300 per week. Houses for rent in the Gold Coast can be good value if your able to split the rent with 3/4 bedroom homes starting at around 300 although they are more suburban in location.
Luxury apartments incur a premium as does anything located close to water or the beach. Expect to pay more.
When renting most landlords require references (personal and from previous landlords), personal information (licence, passport and maybe other forms of id), proof of income and sometimes previous account statements to prove your id and to validate your tardiness in bill paying.
Basically they want to know - who you are, what your reputation is and how well you pay your bills. What they dont want is there place trashed or overdue rent!
Most landlords require four weeks rent as a bond and 2 weeks rent in advance. Lease periods are generally 6 months. For more info on yours and landlords legal requirements see Residential Tenancies Authority which is the Queensland Governments department which administrates the Residential Tenancies Act of 1994.
Locating property to rent on the Gold Coast can be done via searching on the net with most Real Estate agencies listing their properties online, the local newspaper (the Gold Coast Bulletin) or visiting the Real Estate agents direct. Popular real estate agencies are The Proffesionals, Elders, First National and Hillsea Real Estate.
A lot of people also advertise for share accommodation when they have a spare room or are looking for a new flatmate and generally post their ad in Saturdays Gold Coast Bulletin.
Good Luck.
