Should I try to negotiate rent down?

Prosequimur

Hi everyone,

We're currently in a rolling month-on-month rental contract on our house. It's a very nice house and we like it a lot. We'd like to sign up to stay for at least another 12 months (my other half is going to be doing an MA).

Basically, the rent is not bad, but given the current climate I figured it would be worth trying to negotiate it down a bit. I live in a good part of Birmingham where terraced house prices have gone down 11.9% in the last year. We've been good tenants, keeping the house well and always paying on time. I figured that if we're offering a minimum 12 months security, where the landlord can be guaranteed his rent during a tough year, then we should get some kind of discount.

My quandry is that really, we don't want to leave, and would probably be OK with staying at the current rent price. I've emailed the landlord via the agents and he's coming round tomorrow to discuss. But I've all of a sudden gone paranoid. He's had some guys turn up to paint the outside of the house and re-tile the bathroom (even though it's in perfectly good condition) without us asking. Now I'm worried that by bringing up the idea of paying less rent, he's decided to simply cut his losses and sell the house whilst there is talk of a recovery.

My questions to you moneysavers are:

How likely is this scenario, realistically? I've never been a landlord or homeowner.

Should I try and negotiate or just accept the current rent to secure tenancy?

Should the house go on the market, how likely would it be to be put up as a buy-to-let house with us as tenants? Would there be any way I could convince him to do this should he decide to sell?

Sorry about the many questions, I know they're probably silly but I'm a bit concerned I may have made an error and would appreciate advice.

Fire_Fox

It's not likely at all unless you do your homework on the rental prices of similar properties in the area. Selling prices are irrelevant.

You are entitled to quiet enjoyment - that means nobody can just turn up and expect to access the property without your prior agreement (except in an emergency).

Prosequimur

Hi, thanks for the response. Sorry, not likely to which? I realise now that I asked two questions that could answer

00ec25

Prosequimur wrote: »

We're currently in a rolling month-on-month rental contract on our house.

has the LL actually indicated they may offer a new fixed term at all? if not then you need to negotiate that to start with!

is this the only property the LL controls or do they have >1. If only 1 then personally I think it unlikely the LL will agree a lower rent unless, as Firefox says, you can demonstrate the averge rent for identical properties in your specific location. Also as stated, the asking/sales price has nothing to do with rent (or will you pay more rent when house prices or mortgage rates increase!)

Prosequimur wrote: »

Should the house go on the market, how likely would it be to be put up as a buy-to-let house with us as tenants? Would there be any way I could convince him to do this should he decide to sell?

only you and he can decide this, not really something we can comment on as we can't read his/her mind!

Prosequimur

Hey 00ec25, thanks for your helpful response. It is only the one I think he owns - so thanks for the tip. No, at this time he hasn't indicated he'd be prepared to sign another fixed term lease at all - I had assumed that he'd want to do that to lock in the rent for 12 months rather than risk not finding another tenant. But it seems like I may be approaching that wrong, so thanks - I'll look at it more as something we want but he may not!

Regarding your second answer, of course we can't tell, I was simply asking if it was something that was feasible, easy or whether he might scoff at this idea.

Obukit

A twelve month contract would be an advantage for your landlord, not yourself so you should definitely get a reduction if you move onto it.

The best thing to do is look on Rightmove and see what similar properties are renting for, then ask for more off - remember, you have the advantage of providing surety to the landlord as you have good payment history, as opposed to the unknown quantity he'll get if he goes to market. He'll also save money on finders fees from a LA.

We've just renewed our contract, rental prices here (Didcot, Oxfordshire) have dropped about 8%, we made a "take it or we leave" offer of 15% off our previous rent and got it agreed (despite the LL complaining his mortgage was much more - tough luck!).

pinkshoes

In terms of negotiating rent, why don't you look on rightmove and find similar properties and the rent prices being asked, and use that as justification for asking for a reduction?

Prosequimur

Hey all, thanks a lot for the rapid responses, I really appreciate your help. I have had a look on a couple of house sites but the problem with Birmingham is that even within a small geographic areas, quality of both area and property vary wildly so it's quite difficult to pin down what the "average" rent is.

Obukit, thanks for sharing your story. At the moment my biggest concern is that he'll just put the house up for sale, though I can't imagine that would be likely due to the current housing market and the offer of 12 months guaranteed rent.

I'll let you know how it goes. Any further words certainly appreciated.

izzybusy23

Prosequimur wrote: »

Hi everyone,

We're currently in a rolling month-on-month rental contract on our house. It's a very nice house and we like it a lot. We'd like to sign up to stay for at least another 12 months (my other half is going to be doing an MA).

Basically, the rent is not bad, but given the current climate I figured it would be worth trying to negotiate it down a bit. I live in a good part of Birmingham where terraced house prices have gone down 11.9% in the last year. We've been good tenants, keeping the house well and always paying on time. I figured that if we're offering a minimum 12 months security, where the landlord can be guaranteed his rent during a tough year, then we should get some kind of discount.

My quandry is that really, we don't want to leave, and would probably be OK with staying at the current rent price. I've emailed the landlord via the agents and he's coming round tomorrow to discuss. But I've all of a sudden gone paranoid. He's had some guys turn up to paint the outside of the house and re-tile the bathroom (even though it's in perfectly good condition) without us asking. Now I'm worried that by bringing up the idea of paying less rent, he's decided to simply cut his losses and sell the house whilst there is talk of a recovery.

My questions to you moneysavers are:

How likely is this scenario, realistically? I've never been a landlord or homeowner.

Should I try and negotiate or just accept the current rent to secure tenancy?

Should the house go on the market, how likely would it be to be put up as a buy-to-let house with us as tenants? Would there be any way I could convince him to do this should he decide to sell?

Sorry about the many questions, I know they're probably silly but I'm a bit concerned I may have made an error and would appreciate advice.

I negotiated our rent down in February this year. I took into consideration the rental prices of similar properties in the area and armed with that knowledge I wrote and said I would like a rent reduction based on my findings and that I was happy to sign a further 12 months if the rent was lowered. Landlady accepted. We have been at this house for 2 years and are good tenants who take care of her home so I think lowering the rent £25 a month was worth it for her to avoid any voids or bad tenants just for a few pounds extra rent each month.

Just do your homework. If you like the place and want to be there for another year, say on the basis of a drop you are willing to sign for another 12 months to guarantee her rental income.