Can you make an offer on a rental listing?

[Philomenae]

A flat has come up for rent in a building we like. It’s a bit dated and needs a lick of paint throughout. We are happy to do this.

It has been listed for over a month and apparently there hasn’t been much interest. It’s currently empty.

It’s on for £2,750 a month. We are thinking of offering £2,500 fixed for two years.

Do you think we’d have much luck?

Making offers on rental flats (in London) used to be quite normal before covid. Sounds like it must be quite overpriced if there’s been no takers for a month and not much interest in current rental climate. You have nothing to loose by making an offer.

Sure, why not.

My experience of offering to do up dated rentals a bit has uniformly been of the landlord saying no though, bizarrely. It wasn't even coupled with asking for a cheaper rent, either. This was during covid when they could pick and choose tenants.

If you have Property Log for Chrome, you might be able to see previous listings and asking rents, too.

Be mindful that asking for a two year lease is a double edged sword; the landlord has to agree not to put the rent up for two years (unless they get a clause written in), and in your case, unless you insist on a break clause, you're stuck there irrespective or whether or not they take their sweet time fixing anything that goes wrong. There is essentially no benefit of a two year lease for a landlord except guaranteed tenancy; it also means they can't give you notice until month 22 if you are a problem tenant. I don't really see this being of benefit to a London landlord, they're perhaps better for a countryside one who struggles to get tenants.

So - they may not agree to it. And perhaps it's not really what is best for you after all?

Yes, but in my experience, to secure it, it needs to be above the current pcm price, not under.

Make an offer. You don’t lose anything. Stress why you would make perfect tenants. Sensible landlords prioritise good tenants over the highest paying ones as they are more profitable in the long run.

Rental prices are softer, at least in London, than they were a year ago.

@Philomenae , I am a landlord. If I had a property which had been available to rent for a month I would definitely negotiate on the price, every day that it’s empty is money lost. That said we redecorate in between tenants and keep our properties up to date with new flooring, kitchens, bathrooms and windows etc. We have had tenants who’ve stayed with us for a long time in which case we’ll need to update during their tenancy but we try to do this when they are away (on holiday). I’d be a bit wary of signing up to a two year tenancy if the landlord hasn’t cared for the property, maybe that’s why it hasn’t let.