Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

aibu to be annoyed letting agent dropped rent by £50

382 replies

toohoottoday · 30/05/2020 10:34

I have just found out my letting agent has dropped the rental for the property I rent by £50. This rental income represents over half my income, and I can't really afford a drop. He had chatted with me about rental but we didn't agree to drop it. He had said we may have to, but then rents had increased since our last tenant came in, so the drop due to the covid situation may even it out to the current rent level, and that he already had three households interested before it was even advertised. So given that, and being as we never agreed a decrease, I wasn't expecting it to be dropped. There are now several tenants who all want to rent it and he has asked me to choose this weekend. I am therefore surprised therefore after checking his website to see he has advertised it as lower than the previous rent.

AIBU to be annoyed about this? I don't suppose there is anything I can do about it now. That is £600 a year that I will be poorer off and I am already on a low income with two kids to support.

OP posts:
AuntyRigsby · 30/05/2020 14:30

To be honest, it really is of no relevance to this discussion whether she's spending the money on repairs or on cocaine and hookers. And it doesn't make any difference whether she's a hard-working single mum or a dissolute billionaire! The market rent is the market rent. There is no moral component to it!

Seventybillionnamechanges · 30/05/2020 14:32

@toohoottoday if you are running your rental as a business - you shouldn’t be putting £50 back in of your own money? That’s madness!

Mamadothehump · 30/05/2020 14:33

Get anew agent! It's your property, you make the final decision on how much rent you charge. The agent is there to guide you. It's in their interest to let it out quickly. They then get their commission and don't have the hassle of showing people around the property. As for telling you that you have to decide this weekend? Tell him/her to do one!
Don't be a mug with this.

ArgumentativeAardvaark · 30/05/2020 14:37

I don't think there is any chance of the agent covering the loss.

Why not? They have breached their contract with you and caused you to suffer a loss.

And per your earlier post, it makes no difference whether you thought you had agreed the higher price, but the agent advertised it lower, or you had not agreed anything but the agent went ahead and advertised it lower. Either way, you never gave your consent to it being advertised at the lower price.

If you’re not prepared to push the point with the agent then there’s not much more that can be said - YANBU to be annoyed, but YABU to suck up the consequences.

mrsbyers · 30/05/2020 14:38

They should shoulder the £50 from their management fees

Original poster
toohoottoday · 30/05/2020 14:39

I'm not putting in £50 of my own money. I've lost it in profit. Jeez, talk about damned if you do or your don't. I'm either told I am stupid for not having money for repairs, or told I am stupid for not taking money from my repair budget.

OP posts:
ArgumentativeAardvaark · 30/05/2020 14:41

Also, I’ve suggested that you insist that the agent tell the prospective tenants that it was his mistake to advertise lower. If he is clear about that then they should not have any issue re trusting you.

Original poster
toohoottoday · 30/05/2020 14:42

YABU to suck up the consequences

Well, if lose the interested tenants I will be sucking up the consequences too. It's one of those situations where a sucky thing has happened and I need to decide what is the best damage limitation for me financially.

OP posts:
Talulahoopla · 30/05/2020 14:43

@Fairenuff

You haven't answered what you would do if the tenant fails to pay rent though OP. Seriously, if finding £50 a month is difficult, how will you find the whole rent?
Loss of rent insurance
ArgumentativeAardvaark · 30/05/2020 14:43

I am not suggesting you lose the interested tenants! I am suggesting you go with them and push the agent to compensate you.

Original poster
toohoottoday · 30/05/2020 14:44

tell the prospective tenants that it was his mistake to advertise lower. If he is clear about that then they should not have any issue re trusting you

Not sure it works like that in the real world. If I were a prospective tenant I think it would still leave a bad taste and suspicion.

OP posts:
Original poster
toohoottoday · 30/05/2020 14:45

I am suggesting you go with them and push the agent to compensate you

I will discuss this on Monday. He may agree to drop the fee for finding the new tenants (its quite expensive).

OP posts:
ArgumentativeAardvaark · 30/05/2020 14:46

To be clear I suggested two alternatives- either the agent puts up price saying it was his mistake (fair enough not ideal as you say) OR you take one of these tenants at this price and push the agent to make good your loss.

ArgumentativeAardvaark · 30/05/2020 14:50

@toohoottoday

I am suggesting you go with them and push the agent to compensate you

I will discuss this on Monday. He may agree to drop the fee for finding the new tenants (its quite expensive).

Great! If letting agents are not pulled up for clear breaches like this they will keep pushing their luck.

(The agents who used to manage my property were similarly lax about making sure they had clear instructions before acting and I had to be very careful with them; now have new ones who are much better)

Seventybillionnamechanges · 30/05/2020 14:52

@toohoottoday sorry I’m really not meaning to come across as arsey but you’ve changed what you’re saying several times. You’ve said that it makes up half of your income, you’ve said that you have a separate business budget, you’ve said that you are going through your finances to see where you can “make up” £50 month.

If you are that precarious it’s wise to think about how you want to proceed in the future. Landlords have been squeezed and squeezed over the past few years. Even the abolishing tenant fees has an impact that costs more than £600 year for most.

But just speak to the agent. Put the ball in their court. Say this is £50 less than agreed what’s happened here? Then stay quiet and let them fill the gap.

StillCoughingandLaughing · 30/05/2020 14:54

You haven't answered what you would do if the tenant fails to pay rent though OP. Seriously, if finding £50 a month is difficult, how will you find the whole rent?

Is it really that difficult to understand that the OP might budget for two different scenarios - for when the property is rented and for when it’s empty? As someone has already said, there is such a thing as loss of rent insurance, and also contingency funds. The OP may have budgeted for, let’s say three months of the property being empty - but to do so, she needs to rent the property for a certain amount when there IS a tenant in it.

Yes, a £50 a month hit isn’t huge, but not everyone has the luxury of a large financial cushion. Suggestions she should sell up because margins are tight is really rather short-sighted.

AlphaDalpha · 30/05/2020 14:58

Tell him you can afford it and query if they will lower their fees to compensate. Tell them you will be looking for a new agent as the margin with them is too tight.

DaiJai1066 · 30/05/2020 14:59

This is an awful thread! People’s circumstances change. I rent my house out because of circumstances I found myself in I had to move to a more expensive part of the country to get a job that paid more. I own a lovely house that I saved really hard for and which somebody else now lives in. I make minimal profit from the house and use my savings for repairs. Not all landlords exploit but estate agents do. They should advertise at what you agreed and if you have no interest maybe then reduce it. Also dropping the rent could be a temporary thing if a tenant only signs for 6 months. You could also share the estate agents advert on your own social media and ask friends and family to as well.

Original poster
toohoottoday · 30/05/2020 15:01

I have not changed what I said seventy. It does make up half my income (by which I mean total money coming in). Some of that rental money I put in my business budget. Some goes into my personal budget. The £50 is loss of profit so will come from my personal budget.

OP posts:
Dylaninthemovies1 · 30/05/2020 15:02

OP I would tell the estate agent that you will only accept the full rent, not the amount he discounted it to. I wonder if he’s picketing the difference?

As to you all slagging the OP. It doesn’t sound like she is rolling in money getting rich on letting out slum property

Taliya · 30/05/2020 15:03

If the rent is over half your income then maybe get a job that covers it instead of relying on rental income like this. I sadly don't have much time for moaning landlords as know from previous experience they charge too much rent in the first place. Thankfully have a lovely newish build housing association flat now with a secure tenancy with an affordable rent ....I'm glad I'm not renting in the private sector anymore. Get another job if you are worried about your income.

Seventybillionnamechanges · 30/05/2020 15:05

@daijai I think you’re proving the point though. Op is relying on the rent as her income. That’s a tricky situation to be in as there are so many scenarios where a rented property becomes and expense rather than an income generator.

GrandAltogetherSo · 30/05/2020 15:07

Go back to the agent and tell him he made a mistake and to get it sorted otherwise, if he can’t do that you’ll move to a new agency.

I wouldn’t stress over it. If it’s a decent property and already on at the lower end of the market, they’ll be plenty of other tenants interested.

Why are people being so rude towards the OP?

My step-son has a small terraced house he lets out which provides an additional bit of income. He inherited it when a close relative died and the extra income helped him through Uni. He works about 200 miles away so it was never going to be suitable home for him to live in.
Lots of ordinary properties are rented out due to similar circumstances. My friend inherited her mum’s house but again, it’s miles away from where she lives and works, so it’s being let out at the moment.

TurkeyBasterHopeItWorks · 30/05/2020 15:14

Hi OP,

You have received an awful lot of judgemental and nasty comments on this thread, totally unjustly as far as I'm concerned. Some posters may just see a thread about renting out a property and decide it's an opportunity to troll someone who they wrongly assume is some kind of money grabbing landlord.
I think you should be clear and assertive when you contact the agent. It is not fair that you will be losing the £50 each month due to his mistake. As you say if the price is increased now (to the correct amount) this causes other potential issues so you are stuck between a rock and a hard place. I think as has been suggested the agent should reduce his fixed fee because it was his mistake. You should not be the one to lose out in all this.
Good luck OP, you sound like a good and fair person to me, especially as you stated the rent you had initially agreed was at the lower end of comparable properties already.

Coffeecak3 · 30/05/2020 15:27

You need to get your agent told OP.

He's made a wrong presumption and he should be the one to sort out his mistake.
Like you we rent out our home because we currently don't live in the UK. I like to think we are good landlords and we actually care about our UK property as we hope to return one day.
Some of the pp's on here are deliberately insinuating that you're letting purely for business whereas like us it's so you can maintain a step on the UK property ladder as UK property prices usually increase faster than in other countries.

Swipe left for the next trending thread