Error entering search after clicking a radio button using Selenium in Python

The problem is that you are storing an element in search_box and then using it after executing the search, triggering the stale element exception. The way I generally get around this problem is to always fetch any element before using it unless I'm executing steps in sequence and I know that the page/partial page doesn't change during those actions. I wrote a simple script that demonstrates this using some of your steps.

from selenium import webdriver

from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC
from selenium.webdriver.support.wait import WebDriverWait

driver = webdriver.Chrome()

url = "https://www.spareroom.co.uk/flatshare-house-share/uk/"
driver.get(url)

post_codes = ["B16", "B20"]

wait = WebDriverWait(driver, 10)
# dismiss cookie prompt
wait.until(EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.ID, "onetrust-accept-btn-handler"))).click()

for post_code in post_codes:
    print("\r\n", post_code, "=================")

    wait.until(EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.CSS_SELECTOR, "label[title='Rooms in existing shares']"))).click()
    search_location = wait.until(EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.ID, "search_by_location_field")))
    search_location.clear()
    search_location.send_keys(post_code)
    wait.until(EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.ID, "submitButton"))).click()
    rooms = wait.until(EC.visibility_of_all_elements_located((By.CSS_SELECTOR, "h2.listing-card__title")))
    print("\r\nROOMS")
    for room in rooms:
        print(room.text)

    wait.until(EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.CSS_SELECTOR, "label[title='Potential flatmates and tenants seeking accommodation']"))).click()
    search_location = wait.until(EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.ID, "search_by_location_field")))
    search_location.clear()
    search_location.send_keys(post_code)
    wait.until(EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.ID, "submitButton"))).click()
    tenants = wait.until(EC.visibility_of_all_elements_located((By.CSS_SELECTOR, "h2.listing-card__title")))
    print("\r\nTENANTS")
    for tenant in tenants:
        print(tenant.text)

driver.quit()

This prints

 B16 =================

ROOMS
Studios Flats Edgbaston B16 perfect for couples!!
Luxury Supported Accommodation rooms Edgbaston   
Double rooms for DSS tenants Edgbaston
All bills included - Large Self contained studio 
Spacious furnished room in a Shared House B16     
Affordable rooms in student house share 2025-2026 
Quiet n Large en-suite 10 minutes from City Centre
Large Double in Rotton Park
Affordable Available Big Rooms Edgbaston    
A City centre room available. All bills inc.
Professional houseshare 1 Single Room May 2025

TENANTS
Professional looking for en-suite room
Professional male seeking en-suite room in Birming
I am a professional male aged 25. I am lookin...
Professional Male seeks a double room
Female looking for a Female House Share
Seeking room in shared house with fun professional
Student Female seeks a single or double room
Professional female
Shared apartment hunt
33 year old Male seeks a single or double room

 B20 =================

ROOMS
Room in Shared Apartment Available in Birmingham
Modern 5 Bedroom House Close To One Stop!
Luxurious New Single Room with En-suite furnished
Bedsite available inclusive of most bills
One Double Room in Two Bed Room Flat.
Room in Shared Apartment Available in Birmingham
Large double room, all bills included, furnished
Newly refurbished property in Handsworth
Cosy, bright single or double room for a female
Shared accommodation To rent
Good Size Single Room

TENANTS
Professional looking for en-suite room
Professional male seeking en-suite room in Birming
I am a professional male aged 25. I am lookin...
Professional Male seeks a double room
Female looking for a Female House Share
Seeking room in shared house with fun professional
Student Female seeks a single or double room
Professional female
Shared apartment hunt
33 year old Male seeks a single or double room

I think I might see what’s going on here. You're getting a StaleElementReferenceException, right? That usually happens when the element you’re trying to interact with is no longer attached to the page — maybe because the page has refreshed or the DOM has changed after switching the radio button.

After selecting the "Rooms Wanted" option and submitting the search, are you sure the search_box element is still the same? Could it be that the page reloads or rerenders that part of the DOM when the radio button is changed?

You should try to re-find the search_box element after switching to the second radio button like this:

rent_button = driver.find_element(By.ID, "flatshare_type-offered")
driver.execute_script("arguments[0].checked = true;", rent_button)
search_box = driver.find_element(By.ID, "search_by_location_field")
search_box.send_keys(postcode, Keys.ENTER)

You can click radio buttons to activate them. Be sure to use WebDriverWait to [try to] ensure that the element(s) you're looking have been rendered.

With a constant postcode (for testing purposes) consider this:

from selenium.webdriver import Chrome, ChromeOptions
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC
from selenium.webdriver.remote.webelement import WebElement
from selenium.webdriver.common.action_chains import ActionChains
from selenium.webdriver.remote.webdriver import WebDriver


URL = "https://www.spareroom.co.uk/flatshare-house-share/uk/"

QTYPES = [
    ("Rooms for rent", "flatshare_type-offered"),
    ("Rooms wanted", "flatshare_type-wanted"),
]

POSTCODE = "SW19"


def click(driver: WebDriver, e: WebElement) -> None:
    ActionChains(driver).move_to_element(e).click().perform()


def accept_cookies(driver: WebDriver) -> None:
    wait = WebDriverWait(driver, 5)
    ec = EC.presence_of_element_located
    loc = (By.ID, "onetrust-accept-btn-handler")
    try:
        click(driver, wait.until(ec(loc)))
    except Exception:
        pass


def do_search_type(driver: WebDriver, search_type: str) -> None:
    wait = WebDriverWait(driver, 5)
    ec = EC.presence_of_element_located
    loc = (By.ID, search_type)
    click(driver, wait.until(ec(loc)))


def do_query_input(driver: WebDriver, data: str) -> None:
    wait = WebDriverWait(driver, 5)
    ec = EC.presence_of_element_located
    loc = (By.ID, "search_by_location_field")
    input_ = wait.until(ec(loc))
    input_.clear()
    input_.send_keys(data)


def do_submit(driver: WebDriver) -> None:
    wait = WebDriverWait(driver, 5)
    ec = EC.presence_of_element_located
    loc = (By.ID, "submitButton")
    button = wait.until(ec(loc))
    click(driver, button)


def do_search(driver: WebDriver, search_type: str, postcode: str) -> None:
    do_search_type(driver, search_type)
    do_query_input(driver, postcode)
    do_submit(driver)


def get_nresults(driver: WebDriver) -> str:
    try:
        wait = WebDriverWait(driver, 5)
        ec = EC.presence_of_element_located
        loc = (By.CSS_SELECTOR, "p.navcurrent")
        return wait.until(ec(loc)).find_elements(By.TAG_NAME, "strong")[-1].text
    except Exception:
        pass
    return "Unable to get results"


if __name__ == "__main__":
    options = ChromeOptions()
    options.add_argument("--headless=new")
    with Chrome(options) as driver:
        driver.get(URL)
        accept_cookies(driver)
        for label, qtype in QTYPES:
            do_search(driver, qtype, POSTCODE)
            print(label, get_nresults(driver))

Output:

Rooms for rent 260
Rooms wanted 1000+