Tenant trying to renegotiate rent prior to end of tenancy - what would you do?

[maggiethecat]

I knew this tenant would be a headache! They started in August and they can now give 2 months notice to exercise the break in February. So they have contacted me to say that they have seen similar properties in the area for about £300 per month cheaper. I know they can get properties for what the price but not a comparable property.

I am inclined to say to go take a hike but I don't want to be rash. What would you do?

Because in my opinion a landlord is not under any obligation to reduce the tenants' rent just because, a few months after signing the lease, they say they want it reduced. I wouldn't countenance it and it would really put me off them as tenants. If now this, what next?

By the way, I strongly disagree with your assertion that an amateur landlord is any decent tenant's worst nightmare. What a joke! When someone is living in your house (or one you own but are fond of and don't treat simply as a cash cow) it is my experience that it benefits everyone to have a personal relationship. It doesn't mean you can't see the wood for the trees fgs.

there is no obligation to reduce the rent, but feeling personally slighted by the request is stupid

amateur landlords who react to a simple request with such drama, and name calling ("calculating" etc), will probably take an equally dim view of maintenance

Too late now, but I wouldn't have reduced. I may be an amateurs landlady but I look after my flat and my tenants very well and know that it is slightly under market rate as I haven't increased it in the 3 yrs they've been there.

If my tenants asked me for a short term reduction to help through a difficult patch (they have just had a second child for example) I would say yes, with proper terms in writing...but because I like them and want them to stay. However your circs are very different, and all you have done is reinforce in their mind that the place is over priced.

Speaking as a one-time landlord who once granted a tenant's request for rent reduction... I don't understand what exactly is cheeky about a tenant requesting this? It's their right to ask, it's your right to refuse. If they're worth hanging on to then negotiate a compromise. If not, rental markets in most parts of the UK are more than buoyant enough for you to find new tenants, as long as the rent you're asking is reasonable.

OP I think you did the right thing by offering a compromise. If they pay the rent on time and basically look after the place - that is a good tenant worth hanging on to IMO

Sorry but I don't see what the tenant has done that is so out of order!

HollyGhost - you sound as though you're talking from bitter experience, all this talk of 'amateur landlords'. Back in the day when I was a renter, I had experience of so-called 'professional landlords' and frankly they were a complete nightmare - hard to get hold of and penny-pinching in the extreme. On the other hand, I had several excellent relationships with the landlord where we were living in their house while they lived overseas, and they bent over backwards to ensure we were happy living in their home.

I would never have dreamt of taking on a property at a certain rental price, and then a few months into the agreement saying that I thought it was overpriced and asking for a reduction. According to the OP the property is not overpriced at all, so why on earth reduce it? If it were me, I would say no (assuming I believed the property to be fairly priced and easy to re-let) and explain the reasons why. The tenants are then free to make their mind up, but I"d rather they left than have them constantly feeling hard done by.

You could tell them that if the rental income was reduced, it would not be economically viable for you to rent out the property and you would have to sell.

why lie

lottie back when I was a tenant, I was very lucky with my landlords.

However, I hear and see enough to realise that some amateur landlords, like the OP take things v. personally, and that their unprofessional behaviour is not in their tenants' interest any more than it is in theirs.

Professionals tend to react like Bibbo above and make a business decision

"Should have seen the writing on the wall when the husband was of the view that he should be able to deduct the cost of postage stamps from rent if he ever had to post anything to me."

I think that allows the OP to have reservations about these tenants!

And who says she can take a hit of up to £300 a month? Not all landlords have that flexibility.

HollyGhost - Most people wouldn't be able to take a £300 reduction in income. It might help to establish if they are serious about leaving or merely attempting to have the rent reduced.

Depends how much the postage stamps are and what the item being sent is! I have spent in excess of £100 sending things to my landlord before now (his own items). Too right I take it off the rent.

I am sure they didn't expect to get a £300 reduction! that is how negotiations work!

Hmm, I can't imagine for a moment that any sane landlord would expect the tenant to cover such costs.

What is so terrible in asking for a reduction in rent? Many of you seem to take this very personally

I don't see the harm in asking at all, the landlord could always say no. Why on earth it would make anyone lose respect, vandalise the property or evict their tenants is utterly beyond me.

Have not read all this thread but as a landlord I have been in this position before and I refused and the tenants left. I was glad to be rid of them tbh as they were the very fussy type who would have been on the phone every day about something or other. As a long term landlord I have seen many tenants come and go and can recognise the troublemakers. It is their own fault for not doing their research before they committed to the tenancy.

Interesting discussion - I've been out all day and just got back in but thank you all for the different perspectives.

I am currently both landlord and tenant at them moment and my ethos in both capacities is to be fair and expect to be treated fairly. So I take care of my landlord's property as if it were my own, I pay my rent etc etc and I expect the landlord to be reasonable in return. This is also what I expect from the relationship with my tenant.

I would not consider asking my landlord for a reduction in the rent mid-tenancy in the way that my tenants have asked ie they believe they can get a better deal elsewhere so essentially they are using the break clause as leverage. It is unprincipled and it does nothing to foster a good relationship.

I have had a tenant before who was excellent and at renewal he said he wanted to stay but was having difficulty with work as it was around the start of the recession and asked if we would consider a reduction and I agreed.

So, I don't think it is inappropriate to ask for a reduction in certain circumstances but to try to renegotiate the rent mid tenancy when you are in a fixed term contract at a fixed rent on the basis that rents are cheaper elsewhere is very cheeky.

When I first posted I had already decided to offer a reduction but had a bad feeling about doing so and I posted because of the ambivalence.

To update:

The tenant said he was not happy with £100/month off at which point I told him that perhaps he would be better off going for one of the properties he had seen.

He hasn't given notice yet although he may very well do so soon. However I think that if I were to do it all again I would take the position that many on this thread took ie not to offer to reduce the rent in these circumstances. I wasn't happy reducing the rent and I should have stuck with that feeling at the outset.