Good tenants has asked for 12.5% rent reduction on renewal

[QuintessentiallyQS]

I dont know what to do and must seriously consider the cost of getting new tenants.

Currently the rent they pay is distributed the following way:

Jeez, I rent and I wouldn't expect a reduction, ever

Not ever? Not if repairs had been left undone? You had been left without utilities? The market had plummetted and your rent was now double what the same properties in your street were getting?

Tenants should not be afraid to ask for a rent reduction in appropriate circumstances. It is wrong that people are so terrified to do this.

aha :-) - I see, OP. Not a great expert on Norwegian rentals!

do your sums and see what it will cost to replace them. Then tell them the figures and explain why you can't afford to reduce the rent. They then stay or go.

sillybilly - lack of utilities is normally due to not paying the bill. The tenant does that.

market forces - fine. But that is not the situation for the OP.

In that case Quintessentially it sounds like you'd have no problem getting a new tenant (and might even be able to put the rent up). I'd say no (and in those circumstances it does sound like a bit of a cheek).

Have you had a look on Rightmove to see what rents are doing in the local area? I really doubt whether they've fallen 12.5%, but if they have, you're going to have to work out whether refusing will cut off your nose to spite your face.

It is just hard to arrange new tenants when I live in Britain.

It is a landlords market due to the influx of students every year, and I am not particularly keen on student sharers, we have had that, and our neighbours had a bit of a nightmare at the weekends - we were lucky that the only damage was two broken toilet seats.

sillybilly - lack of utilities is normally due to not paying the bill. The tenant does that.

Or faulty fittings/equipment, repairs undone.

market forces - fine. But that is not the situation for the OP

My post wasnt anything to do with OPs situation. It was in response to something another poster said.

X-post.

Tell them "Unfortunately this is what it costs me, so this is what it costs you."

Just noticed you have no agent. My property is also abroad - we tried to manage it ourselves, but in the end had to bite the bullet and get an agent (actually it is surprisingly reasonable and removes a massive headache). I think in that case you need to talk to your tenant and see if you can come to an agreement. In your shoes I would rather have a reliable tenant who pays a bit less rent and doesn't annoy the neighbours than have to deal with a possible turnover of student renters - with risk of gaps in rental income, to say nothing of the cost of having to fly over to sort things out.

And therein lies my conundrum. But it will leave me out of pocket if thee is an expense. They have informed me that the toilet ventilation hood has fallen down, so that is going to cost several hundred to fix.

There are no agents. There arent even letting agencies! All rentals are sorted between landlord and tenants direct. The deposit is protected in schemes run by the bank!

Is your property appreciating in value? There have been times when we felt we weren't making any money on ours in terms of income, but if we look at how much it has appreciated we have made quite a lot (not much help in terms of day to day running costs I know, but something else to take into consideration). Is it your family home? Do you plan to return and live there one day?

Tell them no you can't reduce it and put the ball back in their court. Bet they renew their lease anyway

Just looked, similar properties are marketed at between 30%-50% higher rent than they are paying. I dont think they have checked the market. They are asking to pay rent equivalent to a 2 bed flat at 60m2, while living in a 4 bed detached house nearly 3 times as big.

Well that's just taking the p*!

rate of inflation (which I can put the rent up by as per contract, and what is the norm) is 2.5%

I will tell them I cant reduce rent, but I wont put the rent up by rate of inflation either.

They have asked me to buy them some compost for the roses, lawn seeds and fertilizer so they can do some garden care (as per the contract). You'd think they could spend £15.

Just say no. It sounds like you are being generous as it is

That sounds fair to me.

If you were in the UK, just because the garden care is in their contract wouldn't mean you could enforce it legally. It would cost more than £15 to hire a gardener. Don't forget they're providing their time and labour.

At least they are looking after the garden - not a given whatever it says in the contract.

Wow

Cheeky buggers!

Where is this house op?

Most gardens in UK are cared, tidied but do no need bought compost if that helps. They could recycle their own waste ( fruit, veg, egg boxed etc) and use that if keen to care?

Your tenants sound like they are using every bit of the contract to not pay for things.

erm, you are going to be out of pocket given the repairs needed! Just say no to the rent reduction, it's going up by 2.5% as per the contract. If they want to leave, you'd understand.

Then let them look what else they can get on the market for the same price, realise just how much an equivilant property would cost them, and hopefully stop complaining that they have a very, very good deal.

If they leave, it seems that you will easily fill the property at a higher rate (which should balance out over the year having to leave it empty for a month or two). They don't actually sound like good tenants, they sound like the hard work, grabby ones.

And if they keep having costly repairs needed - WM and this new expense I would tell them you will increase year on year what you are allowed to ( in case they are damaging the property, to stop them doing so!)

There's nothing wrong with a tenant requesting a rent decrease at renewal any more than there is a landlord asking for a rent increase. I've personally negotiated reductions twice in past when rental prices were falling in the area I was living.

Having said that, you believe your rent is at or below market rent so I would be tempted to call their bluff and get new tenants if necessary - if it's worth it after allowing for void etc.

Why not offer to meet them halfway. I don't think it is cheeky of them at all. But you are within your rights to refuse. But doesn't the tenant usually pay the council tax.

I didn't read all the replies but if you can achieve 30-50% higher rent, tell them that, hand them their notice and get other tenants in. They are taking the piss! (We have similar tenants who have no clue how little money we make on our property and have no clue how much it would cost them to sort out their own little domestic crises!!)