Searching for a place
Use Rent for whole properties and Share for rooms. Lease Transfer and Parking have their own searches.
- Filter by suburb, listing type, property type, weekly price and the date the place is available by.
- Switch between the list and the map.
- A separate view shows places that were recently leased, so you can see what has gone.
You can search without signing in.
Understanding an advertisement
- The heading is the property type, followed by the price, availability and property details.
- Reference: the advertisement's ADV number. Quote it if you contact support.
- Inspection times are shown in Canberra local time. The lister does not take bookings through PlaceNest.
- The map shows an approximate location in the general suburb area, not the exact address.
- "What's nearby" shows every place in our data within 10 km in a straight line from the suburb centre — schools and childcare, shopping and pharmacies, health, bus stops, light rail stops and railway stations, parks and sport, libraries and community centres. Choose a category, narrow it with the filters, and switch between the map (nearby places are grouped into numbered circles until you zoom in) and the list ("Show all" lists every place). Places come from OpenStreetMap, a community-mapped source that may be incomplete or out of date; distances are straight-line, not walking or driving distances, and are measured from the suburb centre, never the exact address.
Important: The "Advertised by" line shows who is advertising — for example owner, agent or existing tenant — as stated by the advertiser; not verified by PlaceNest. Older advertisements may say "not stated".
What you see when signed in or signed out
Logged-out visitors only ever see the suburb and an approximate location. They never see the exact address or the lister's direct contact details.
When you are signed in, you see the exact address, the lister's name or their direct phone and e-mail only if the advertiser chose to show them to signed-in members. Each choice is off unless the advertiser turns it on.
Good to know: Even when direct contact details are hidden, you can always contact the lister through PlaceNest.
Sending an enquiry
- Open the advertisement and select Send an enquiry. You need to be signed in.
- Write your message (up to 1000 characters) and select Send enquiry.
- Your enquiry starts a conversation with the advertiser. Replies appear in Messages.
You can only enquire about an advertisement that is currently listed, and not about your own advertisement. An existing conversation stays available after the advertisement closes.
Applying
Rent and Share advertisements have an Apply for this property button. Lease transfers have Apply for Lease Transfer. Parking has enquiries only.
Housing Requirements
A Housing Requirement tells listers what you are looking for: suburb, housing type, weekly budget range, move-in date, expected duration and minimum bedrooms.
- To post one, choose Post a housing requirement on the home page (you will be asked to sign in first). It opens My Housing Requirements, where you can check About you, About me and your photos and see your existing requirements; then choose New requirement. You can also post from Housing Requirements.
- Active requirements are public, including to logged-out visitors, with a REQ reference. Only these details are shown — never your name or contact details.
- Potential matches re-runs the normal search for you. It is not a suitability score, an AI recommendation or an automatic decision.
- Listers cannot message you from a requirement. You contact listers through their advertisements.
- You can archive a requirement at any time.
What is not available
PlaceNest does not currently have saved searches, favourites or search alerts. Use Housing Requirements and Potential matches to repeat a search.