My landlord's offering me 'favours'....ooh-err

love_the_messenger

I've been trying to figure out the best solution here and I can't really, probably because of my anxiety issues which make me whir things around and around in my head.

Anyway, I've been living in a rented flat for the past year. I'm extremely happy with it aside from two factors. 1. Being the sound-proofing is sh*t and 2. I'd prefer a 2-bed so I could turn the second bedroom into a home office (I work from home and currently have my desk set up in the living room)

I live in a New Build development. I found a 2-bed flat in the same development for £50 per month more than I am currently paying. It is also on the top floor which means the noise pollution from neighbours might not be such an issue.

However, now the landlord on my current flat has offered me a £25 a month rent reduction if I'll renew my tenancy agreement here for another year.

My long-term plans are to buy my own flat either next Summer or the year after. So I am wondering whether to grin and bear the things that don't suit me here and stay put. I'll be saving £75 a month in total by not moving to the new place. Plus I won't of course have any moving costs to pay.

Hmmm. What'd you do?

belfastgirl23

I would see if the people who own the bigger flat would negotiate but in principle I would probably move - extra space can make a big difference to how you feel about life. Providing you can afford the £75 of course.

Lady_E

I would stick with the flat you have and save save save for the deposit for your own place. If you move in 2 years by saving £75 a month u will have £1800, which will help Good luck

Mips

Stay where you are.. the man possibly has a mortgage to pay, has kindly offered you a slight reduction... you wont have to go through all the hassle of moving... and you will of course SAVE money

love_the_messenger

Dippychick wrote: »

Stay where you are.. the man possibly has a mortgage to pay, has kindly offered you a slight reduction... you wont have to go through all the hassle of moving... and you will of course SAVE money

I'm not sure I give a monkey's about his mortgage but the rest of your reasons to stay are very valid!

Patrick20

living in conditions your not happy with for a year for £75 isn't good value. The value your getting from the other place is worth more than that amount in my opinion. I know your saving but will £1800 be that much of a difference compared to a year in a better standard of home?

Mips

love_the_messenger wrote: »

I'm not sure I give a monkey's about his mortgage but the rest of your reasons to stay are very valid!

I mentioned the mortgage bit, because it is probably viable that he has a mortgage.. and would need to pay it himself if you left.. Hence his offer of a reduction. It won't be for altruistic reasons, will it

love_the_messenger

Dippychick wrote: »

I mentioned the mortgage bit, because it is probably viable that he has a mortgage.. and would need to pay it himself if you left.. Hence his offer of a reduction. It won't be for altruistic reasons, will it

The market rents have gone down. If I move out, he will get less rent than I've been paying plus in this climate there's no real guarantee his new tenant will even be able to continue paying the rent, etc... so I think his offer is quite clever of him.

Mips

love_the_messenger wrote: »

The market rents have gone down. If I move out, he will get less rent than I've been paying plus in this climate there's no real guarantee his new tenant will even be able to continue paying the rent, etc... so I think his offer is quite clever of him.

There we go - as someone else pointed out, the saving isn't that extensive is it really? And if you would prefer more room...

Revenge_of_the_Red_Devil

Explain to him your situation and ask for a bigger reduction. From his point of view, it's better for him to give you a bigger discount then let you leave and have to look for someone else.

Gingernutmeg

You need to think about the cost of moving though - presumably you're not moving far but there's still going to be some. If you stay, you're 'saving' about £1000 over the course of a year. If you move, it's going to cost you £600 a year more in rent, a probable increase in council tax and utilities, and the general costs of moving - lets say at least £1500 over the course of the year you're planning to stay there. Presumably you'll be going via an agents so you need to look at their costs (ie, are they going to be arsy about you being self-employed and ask for more money upfront).

It's a balancing act though - is a separate office going to let you be more productive so you'll recoup that extra cost through work? Is your general quality of life going to be better? New build rents tend to be higher anyway, could you negotiate and get the other flat down to what you're paying now? Could you maybe look outside the development for a 2-bed place cheaper (risky in terms of not liking it, but you could get what you want, and a better build quality, for less money)? Or, could you stick it for another year and add that £75 per month to a deposit fund?

Also, you need to bear in mind that your landlord obviously wants you to stay, you seem to be getting on ok with him/her and they seem to be in a fairly 'good' position financially in that they're offering you a reduction. You need to think about what you could be moving in to - worst case scenario is that the new flat is owned by someone who isn't paying their mortgage and you could be out in a few months, which ultimately will cost you loads more money and stress (been there, done that ...). If I were in your situation, I'd probably negotiate a bit more with your current LL (point out stuff like the EPC certificate, the risk of a new tenant etc etc), put up with it for a year and then buy my own place - better the devil you know and all that.