Negotiating A Rent Reduction

[Dan U]

My brother got a 10% reduction in his rent recently.

The place next door to them which was identical and just done up went on the market for 20% less than there place.

They gave the blurb for the other place to the letting agent, pointed out that if they left the voids would cost them etc and split the difference.

They were at renewal though

If you are in a place saturated with rentals, prices are going down ime (the last place i recently moved out of in Croydon got marketed at £25 a month less)

 

[Looby]

My mate has just negotiated a rent reduction on his place. He lives in a really posh block and when his partner moved out he could afford it on his own.

The agents figured they would struggle to re-let in a recession so have reduced it from 950 to 750 per month.

 

[1927]

that's good to know. To be fair we've not had an increase in the 3 years we've been here, so we're not worried about that.

Is it really realistic to expect a reduction then?

If the market dramatically shot up would you be happy if the landlord came to you mid contract and said he was raising the rent? These things cut both ways. Sounds like he has been pretty fair so far, trying it on may come back to bite you in the arse!

 

[King Biscuit Time]

If the market dramatically shot up would you be happy if the landlord came to you mid contract and said he was raising the rent? These things cut both ways. Sounds like he has been pretty fair so far, trying it on may come back to bite you in the arse!

Mid contract changes are entirely different to making an adjustment in either direction to a rolling contract due to a changing market.

 

[Choc]

hey rents have recently definitely gone down -i know because i have done a lot of research prior to our move and everyone who came viewing our old flat said that because of this reason they where looking to move (cause they paid over the odds).

i would ask politely, via e-mail or so, that it seems due to the recent rental drop your rent doesn't seem as good anymore and to avoid having to look around again for both of you if there could be a little drop. if he likes you it should be much less hassle to them then finding somebody new.

 

[Mitre10]

BBC reckons rents have gone up but who knows:



Rents rising as landlords sell up

A typical rent still costs less than a year ago, the surveys suggest

The cost of renting a home is rising as "reluctant landlords" sell-up in the recovering housing market, various surveys have suggested.

Rents in England and Wales rose by 0.5% in July compared with June - the fastest rate in a year, according to letting agent LSL Property Services.

The number of homes available for tenants fell during the same month, according to website Findaproperty.com.

Reluctant landlords are homeowners who are forced to let rather than sell.

Over the past 18 months the choice for tenants had expanded as homeowners who had to move, or who did not want to sell at a loss, rented their home out rather than selling it.

"Many sellers were left with little option other than to rent their properties out earlier in the year but this trend seems to be slowly diminishing," said Ian Potter, operations manager of the Association of Residential Lettings Agents.

Landlords currently find themselves in a relatively strong position, according to LSL Property Services' analysis of 18,000 homes.

As well as rental income rising, the value of their properties is also picking up again. In addition, the number of tenants in arrears fell in July, and landlords are filling their properties quicker.

LSL said that 517,000 tenants were behind with payments at the end of July, down from 529,000 at the end of June.

Rent levels were rising fastest in London and the south-east of England, the group found. Across England and Wales the average rent was still 4.5% lower than at its peak in August 2008.

A separate survey by the Findaproperty.com found that the average UK rent rose to £829 a month in July, up £4 on the previous month. This was the highest level for six months and the third consecutive monthly rise.

It said that demand for houses to rent was increasing, but there remained an over-supply of flats.

The number of houses available to rent declined by 16% since February, it said, but there were 13.4% more flats available than six months ago.

Tenants who might be looking to get onto the housing ladder as first-time buyers are still struggling to get a mortgage if they are unable to put down a relatively large deposit.

"You probably need to be looking to 25% to 40% deposits now, which is a lot higher than we used to see," said Mark Baker, head of research at LSL Property Services.

"That really is the key to the whole housing market, and economic recovery, as we need to see the banks loosening the purse strings and allowing us some access to some of that government cash that they are all awash with."



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8226299.stm

 

[Chz]

Rent's a lot cheaper than the last time we moved 18 months ago. This is going by Zone 5, south London. We've just moved and are paying £100/mo less for a 3-bed house than we did for a 2-bed flat in the same general area.