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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:
Destroyedpeople · 30/05/2020 10:48

Well good for you that you make a profit from exploiting the rental market.

beefthief · 30/05/2020 10:48

@StillCoughingandLaughing

Tough. Don't be a landlord.

Don’t be a landlord if you can’t accept that your agent won’t follow the simplest of instructions? Okaaayy...

I didn't qualify my post in any way. Don't be a landlord.
CovidicusRex · 30/05/2020 10:49

I would switch agents tbh.

Bebbanburger · 30/05/2020 10:49

You haven't agreed to this rent. It's your house and he works for you. Tell him to tell the prospective tenants that he made a mistake and the rent is higher. It is up to them whether they want to go for it or not. If they don't he can change his marketing to.show the correct price.and start again.
If you are not happy you can give notice and get another agent. You should be in the driving seat. He should only advise. He might be right and your property could be stood empty for a few months but it is not his place to do this without you agreeing it.

Sparklfairy · 30/05/2020 10:49

Laughing at the landlord haters here Grin and I rent! You know you can get landlord insurance for boiler breaks etc?

OP the agent works for you. If you didn't instruct him to reduce the rent he shouldn't be listing it at a lower price. I'd relist it at the higher rent.

dontdisturbmenow · 30/05/2020 10:50

The same happened to me when I let my property some years ago. We'd discussed a price, he tried to argue it was too high, I said I didn't think it was. He then put the advert before he'd given the go ahead for £50 less than what I said I wanted it at.

Thankfully for me, I noticed right away before offers were made and I asked him to re-advertised. He reluctantly agreed. I had three offers at the asking price and in the end, one offered £25 more for it.

I changed agencies after that. The new agencies than said it was a common tactic by some LAs to secure a rental asap because the only way for them to make money was by a very quick turnaround.

Say you want to talk to the prospective tenants yourself and explain the agency made an error. See if any of them will still be interested at £50 more.

Original poster
toohoottoday · 30/05/2020 10:50

Wouldn't fancy being your tenant.
If you can't lose 50 quid a month what are you going to do when the boiler breaks?

Jackanory! I'm a great Landlord thanks. Of course I factor in money to be put aside for these costs each month.

OP posts:
StillCoughingandLaughing · 30/05/2020 10:51

I didn't qualify my post in any way. Don't be a landlord.

Well you should have qualified it. ‘Don’t be a landlord’ full stop? Why not?

DomDoesWotHeWants · 30/05/2020 10:52

Tell him to relist.

StillCoughingandLaughing · 30/05/2020 10:52

Well good for you that you make a profit from exploiting the rental market.

So what are people IN the market for a rental supposed to do if there’s no such things as landlords?

FourPlasticRings · 30/05/2020 10:53

Just bounce it back to them and say you're not accepting it at that price. Don't stress over it.

Original poster
toohoottoday · 30/05/2020 10:55

Well good for you that you make a profit from exploiting the rental market

Well, no more than cake makers are exploiting the cake market.

OP posts:
Notcontent · 30/05/2020 10:55

I think rents have gone down. And £50 per month is not that much. I have just lost 20% of my salary and a lot of people are facing that.

Goatinthegarden · 30/05/2020 10:56

Well, no more than cake makers are exploiting the cake market.

Cake isn’t a necessity. Housing is.

Ginandbearit1 · 30/05/2020 10:57

Yanbu, I would tell him you want the higher price, if the tenant likes it they may pay it, the agent needs to explain that it was their mistake not yours.

Ignore the landlord haters.

Seventybillionnamechanges · 30/05/2020 10:58

Honestly it’s usual that tenants out in an offer under the rental price anyway - is this not perhaps what’s happened here?

Also seriously £50 a month and you’re looking at how to “save £50”? Being a landlord is not for you - what do you do if your tenants don’t pay rent, if something breaks or if you have an unexpected void period?

Goatinthegarden · 30/05/2020 10:58

So what are people IN the market for a rental supposed to do if there’s no such things as landlords?

Landlords are nefarious for exploiting tenants by charging high prices for accommodation. Makes it difficult for low earners to save and thus get on the market themselves. They also buy up loads of properties, reducing the stock of housing available to buy and driving up prices.

A fairer society would have rent caps, making housing fairer but less lucrative for landlords.

JudgeRindersMinder · 30/05/2020 10:59

I’d be changing agents if I were you-is there anywhere in your contract with the agent that actually allows them to unilaterally decide what the rent is? Your £50 is only costing him about £5 in income-he might see it differently if he’s going to lose your contract

Destroyedpeople · 30/05/2020 10:59

Well thats a really silly thing to say isn't it as shelter is a basic human need and cake is a luxury.. ...
Maybe if there were fewer inept private landlords with their little 'buy to lets' and 'pension properties' the rental market wouldn't be so exploitative.

Original poster
toohoottoday · 30/05/2020 10:59

You do seem quite inept, particularly as you clearly haven't done your sums re being a landlord if you're having to go through your personal finances to allow for £600 over the course of a year

Don't be so dim just so that you can get a cheap hit from feeling superior to a random stranger on the internet. I have done meticulously done my finances on being a landlord and all costs are accounted for within the rental income. I have a low income overall for reasons that are frankly none of your business. All people on low incomes would struggle suddenly find £600 a year.

OP posts:
Marpan · 30/05/2020 11:01

Sell it by auction for a quick sale if you are that cash strapped.

Seventybillionnamechanges · 30/05/2020 11:02

Seriously no one should rely on a single rental property as a main source of income. Have you considered what you would do if tenants can’t pay rent - for example under the current circumstances many tenants are paying less than usual.

thecognoscenti · 30/05/2020 11:02

Boo hoo, sorry you're getting a bit less free money. Suck it up or don't be a landlord.

Dee1975 · 30/05/2020 11:03

Your agent needs to sort this out. If he advertised it for less than agreed, he needs to go back to the three parties and explain his error. If anyone still wants it, great. I’d they don’t, then accept the lower amount.

Seventybillionnamechanges · 30/05/2020 11:03

Or how you will pay the bills if it’s void for a long time - council tax, etc. A single property can easily become a financial liability