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London flat hunting questions - best time for search

I'm feeling pretty clueless and need to ask about this - lived in halls and then at home during COVID, then took year off, then year abroad, so really have no idea, haven't rented privately in London before. I'd ask uni friends but they mostly live at home!

I'm looking for 2 or 3 bed flats/houseshares now with a buddy in the proximity of UCL, to move in mid-late Sept. Most flats are going right now or in a few weeks' time, only a few have Sept move in dates and they're a bit out of our radius. Am I able to contact landlords on rightmove/zoopla who have flats available now-July and ask them what the situation will be like in Sept? Is it sensible to wait until July or August for more to come onto the market? What do most people do in this situation?