Is rent negotiable like house prices?

[Cheappinkfizz]

I'm in my first rented house, and it never occurred to me try to get the rent down before we moved in.

We're moving again in the next couple of months and I was wondering if a house has been on the market for a while, would the landlord accept less per month.

Or will I be told to 'koff?

Yes you can definitely ask, some landlords will agree, some won't. No harm in trying.

It's always worth a short, especially if it has been available for a while.

My MIL has negotiated the rent on her last two apartments. I think it's definately worth trying. I think she signs up for a bit longer (maybe 9 or 12 months rather than 6).

thanks, that's interesting. we'r looking for at least 12 months so might try to negotiate down.

Do you remember show much she managed to reduce the rent by? was it multiples of tens or into the hundreds?

If you're dealing direct with a landlord and can show that you are responsible and long-term tenants it might work.

If you're dealing with an agency they will probably not even consider it.

Remember to take into account how fast the rental market is moving in your area, if there is a high demand for houses the landlord will have no trouble finding someone who will pay the price they are asking.

Yes, very much so.

If a flat is on at say £1000 pcm and not shifting it is absolutely fine to offer £950, for eg. The worst that can happen is the landlord says no.

we always negotiate and have never paid full asking price, we have been renting for 7 years and moved loads of times.

we always start £100/200 below asking price and barter from there.

We rent out property and are always willing to negotiate on price. We always take the details of the tenancy into account, for instance we have just rented a property on a two year lease to a relocation company for a guy who is working her for two years from Cananda. The rent was £1200 but we accepted £1100 and it was guaranteed for two years.

It will probably be through and agency as we're pretty rural and local firms normally get most of the rentals I think. Like you say it's worth a go.

although do you think it's worth putting a card up in the local coop to see if anyone has anything?

My friend has just STR and got £50 off the asking rental price for her house. Good thing too it was way overpriced!! Try advertising in the local shop too - you never know and you might save on extortionate agency fees!

Good luck with finding somewhere - we're on the move to another rental hopefully very soon

It's definitely worth doing and you can start at about 10% a bit like when buying a house. We've done it recently when relocating to a new area and managed to save several hundred a month by committing to a full 12 months. Good luck!!

Definitely ask - we let out a flat and have accepted offers over the past couple of years as the going rate in the area seems to have fallen. As a landlord we'd rather have the flat let at a reduced rate than not let at all - it takes a lont time to recoup a couple of months lost rent. I'd say you could ask up to 10% off reasonably, more if you're cheeky.

We managed to get just under 10% knocked off our rent. Give it a go - you have everything to gain and nothing to lose.

Yes

When we were looking for houses last year (SE London), we were shown the worst things on the agency's books first, the stuff they hadn't been able to shift for months. Some of that was priced at £1,400 pcm. However, we carried on looking, and eventually found our 3-bed terraced house, with a bricked over garden (bliss - no mowing!), for £1,050. Much nicer than the arlier shitholes, too, I might add.

Look on rightmove.co.uk to see whether the property is represnted by more than one agency, and try to play agencies off against one another. Also, look at forums like gumtree, where landlords may have posted their property as well, hoping to save an agency fee (one of our potential landlords did just this. however, he turned out to be a reneger!)

Get an idea of where the market is: whether the property has previously been for sale, and is now for rent because it didn't sell; what similar properties are asking (only asking, remember, not necessarily getting) for; etc.

Good luck

Do it

It is not down to the Agency to decide, they have a legal obligation to pass on all offers to the landlord.

Look at it this way.

You come along on 1st March and offered £600 instead of the £650 they are asking and you are available to move in on 10th March.

They decline.

So the current tenant moves out on 9th March and the property is then empty. No rent.

Somebody else comes along on 30st March, offers full price and moves in on 10th April.

Property has been empty for a month with landlord paying the mortgage and he has lost the £650 for that month.

AND THAT IS only if the tenant coming along on 31st March still offers full price, they may not having seen it has been empty for a while.

So if had accepted you on 1st March he would only be £600 down over the course of the year, not up front, and you are in there for a year.

His second option might have moved out again after six months leaving him with another period of no rent.

I always recommend my landlords (I am in property managment so have dealt with hundreds of them) to accept the offer if it is within about 10% and they tick every other "good tenant" box.

Go for it.