Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

If a flat is advertised at £775 pcm to rent ...

44 replies

ShadyPot · 27/07/2020 11:17

would it be reasonable to offer say £675 pcm? Or £700 pcm? I've heard people are doing things like this, but would like to know if actually it is quite unrealistic.
Do any landlords or tenants have any advice for me? (p.s. I'm not the potential tenant, asking for someone else).

OP posts:
JoJoSM2 · 27/07/2020 11:20

If it’s a popular property, then there might be a queue of interested parties and there won’t be any discounts. However, if there’s something ‘wrong’ with it and little interest, you might be able to get the price down.

CoffeeRunner · 27/07/2020 11:21

I thought the rental price was a price.

What is the rental market like where you are? Around here properties are taken the day they become available so there’s no way a LL would need to accept “offers”.

Jilljams · 27/07/2020 11:23

I think it depends what the rental market is like in that area and how long it’s been on the market.

CupcakesK · 27/07/2020 11:26

A few years ago I rented a property that had been listed for a while at £650pcm. I offered £600, eventually we settled on £625. You might be able to get a discount, but £100 is probably too much

FizzyPink · 27/07/2020 11:27

I think it depends very much where you are and what the demand is like.
I moved out of my London flat at the start of lockdown and technically ended the tenancy mid May and it’s still being advertised for rent. They’re really struggling to find anyone and it’s zone 1, a lovely flat and relatively cheap

SeriouslyRetro · 27/07/2020 11:27

What’s the market like in the area?
What’s the price like in comparison to other properties?
What’s the condition of the flat like in comparison to other properties?
What’s available at £650/675?

UntilYourNextHairBrainedScheme · 27/07/2020 11:32

If that's what the potential tenant can afford it isn't unreasonable to ask - the landlord will probably say no or offer a smaller amount off the price, but if the tenant doesn't ask they'll never know...

£50 off per month is more realistic, £100 unlikely unless it's been on the rental market empty for ages. Obviously if it's popular it'll be a flat no, but if the potential tenant couldn't have afforded more they've lost nothing.

BlingLoving · 27/07/2020 11:34

Of course you can offer a lower price, but there's a chance the landlord will tell you to get stuffed and find someone else. Also, the discount your'e asking for is quite significant - well over 10%.

If, however, rental market is slow where you are, and the property is overpriced, it owner may well accept the lower price.

the point is that you can offer whatever you like. The owner can accept or reject whatever they like.

tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz · 27/07/2020 11:35

OP I'm also looking to rentals for a relative and the mo, good friends of mine are estate agents and suggested it absolutely is possible to try and negotiate a reduction especially if you can commit to a long term rental, 12 months+.

This does of course assume, as others have posted, it's not an in demand property for any reasons.

I guess you've nothing to lose by asking?

Original poster
ShadyPot · 27/07/2020 11:35

there is nothing else available at that price in the area so hard to compare. I'm unsure of what the market is like, but having looked at the property on Rightmove, I can see that the price has already been reduced, at the beginning of July. So it has been on for a while. I can't see any further information, such as when it first came onto the market.

It is a one bedroom flat - perhaps most people are looking for at least two bedrooms? It is situated in a commuter town, 30 mins to mainline station in London, but not walkable to the station.

OP posts:
TitianaTitsling · 27/07/2020 11:37

I've never heard of this, have heard of the opposite.. Aberdeen where flat advertised at 900pcm went for 1050pcm Angry!

Poppyismyfavourite · 27/07/2020 11:46

Wow I'm a landlord and whenever a tenant has "offered" below the advertised rent that has instantly ruled them out - it shows that they can't really afford it, or it would be a squeeze. Or just that they're troublesome sorry. But in our area properties are in high demand - we had at least 5/6 responses the day the ad went up.

Batqueen · 27/07/2020 11:57

Yes you can offer, particularly at the moment.

As a tenant, my friend and I were encouraged by the estate agent to offer for a flat that was up for more than we wanted to pay as we were professionals in a student area.

As a landlord my letting agent has recommended that if my flat didn’t go for the expected price within the first few weeks to consider offers (it went within a week though)

My friend has just accepted an offer of over a hundred pound reduction on her flat, however the monthly cost is higher so you might be pushing your luck a bit. You can at least ask if they might consider an offer.

RB68 · 27/07/2020 11:59

5 to 10% you might get back but not more than that really unless there are really big issues. Benchmark against other similar properties and go in with info always easier. I would offer 700 but expect to go to 725 possibly a bit more

Iwalkinmyclothing · 27/07/2020 12:00

You can always offer. You'll always get agencies/ landlords who find it terribly offensive that you have dared to (bit like the people on here spluttering that someone offered significantly under asking on the house they are selling) but most people are sane and normal and will either say "no" but not take it personally, or be prepared to negotiate.

In some areas it's still very much a landlord's market, in some renters are starting to get the upper hand a bit. I've been watching the renal market in our area closely lately and have noticed that properties on at the higher end are staying on, unlet, for much longer than before. It's an interesting time.

In any case, it doesn't hurt to ask.

Linemanfort · 27/07/2020 12:06

Generally it's tricky - can work, but tricky. But right now near me lots of properties are advertising reduced rent as they've been sat empty for months, so it may well work. I'd say the best way is to get some kind of bargaining chip in there - eg pay three or even six months up front, or offer to sign a twelve month lease with no break clause (obviously only do this if absolutely sure it works for you!) £100 is a lot, probably won't get that, but then again like I say I'm seeing lots of listings on Rightmove that are reduced, even if only for the six month term, so for now in these particular circumstances it does look to be a bit of a buyer's market.

Linemanfort · 27/07/2020 12:07

Sorry, should say tenants' market.

Didicat · 27/07/2020 12:08

I think you are in a better position to offer a reduction if you can pay the deposit and 6 months rent upfront. Otherwise I wouldn’t be expecting more than £15-25 off.

OneRingToRuleThemAll · 27/07/2020 12:10

What else is available at the price point that you want to pay? That will give you an idea of if the request is reasonable.

TitianaTitsling · 27/07/2020 12:16

Go for it!

Original poster
ShadyPot · 27/07/2020 12:29

Can definitely pay 6 months in advance.

As people have said, it is worth asking. They can only say no. I can't believe they would be so silly as to say fuck off we aren't renting to you as you dared try to negotiate!

OP posts:
WombatChocolate · 27/07/2020 12:36

£100 is a huge reduction on that rent level. A landlord is only likely to consider it if the property has sat empty, giving them a big void for a while.

LLs are interested in affordability issues for tenants - they want to be sure the tenant can comfortably afford the rent that is agreed - so if someone starts saying they can afford significantly less, alarm bells start to ring. It is usually better to have no tenant than one who doesn't pay, especially when it's hard to evict people at the moment.

You'd probably have more joy in seeking £50 or £25 reduction, especially if you will sign for 12 months. If you are in a strong position with a solid job, good references and fit the timeframe they want to work to, many people will be willing to discount by £25 and some by £50. Once you start talking £100, it's well over £1k to the landlord over a year which is a lot.

You have to guage the market. How long has the property been available for? Is it over-priced/top of range? How quickly does property go in that area? It never hurts to ask....as long as you accept that if there is someone else willing to pay more, you won't get the property....so it depends how much you want it too.

If it has been on for a long while and you feel condiment there aren't other people looking and offering, I might try £50 off and expect to meet somewhere between £50 and £25 off.

WombatChocolate · 27/07/2020 12:38

And I agree that agents and LLs aren't offended by an offer. £100 off strikes me as a lot on that price, but it could be a point to start negotiating from...but I'd be surprised if you achieved that.

If you do negotiate, let us know how it goes....always interesting to know what people can secure.

Linemanfort · 27/07/2020 12:38

Yeah definitely worth asking then if they can hand over a chunk in advance. If the answer is no, well, nothing lost.

I'm quite impressed at what's available here for way less than six months ago - almost feel like moving myself 🤣🤣 Admittedly I'm in a small city that hitherto had lots of airbnbs and student lets, both of which have been impacted so the market here is following its own curve, but the some of the properties suddenly going cheap to long term regular tenants are really nice!

serenada · 27/07/2020 12:39

@Turnedouttoes

Do you have a link?

Swipe left for the next trending thread