How much can you negotiate when renting a flat?

chris112

what is the etiquette for negotiating housing rental agreements?
im looking at a flat going for £1100 -6 month lease
but generally speaking what would be a 'normal' amount to discount/negotiate down by

i have the capital to pay the full 6 mo lease upfront but would this give me much more negotiating strength?

i was thinking of offering £975 but is this too low?
being a first time renter i really dont know what the 'norm' is

i know every landlord would be different and it would also depend on demand

elverson

We've offered £100 less than the asking rent twice and had it accepted.

HappyMJ

chris112 wrote: »

what is the etiquette for negotiating housing rental agreements?
im looking at a flat going for £1100 -6 month lease
but generally speaking what would be a 'normal' amount to discount/negotiate down by

i have the capital to pay the full 6 mo lease upfront but would this give me much more negotiating strength?

i was thinking of offering £975 but is this too low?
being a first time renter i really dont know what the 'norm' is

i know every landlord would be different and it would also depend on demand

It's on the market for £1,100 per month. If you pay 6 months rent up front you pay £6,600.

The norm is properties are in such high demand that rental negotiations are quite rare. If you think the price is too high look elsewhere. The LL will eventually figure out the price is too high as it's not getting any viewings or people who are viewing it are saying it's priced too high and they will eventually reduce the asking price of the rent. Normally most letting agents want an easy job so they'll advise the LL to put it on the market at a price that will easily attract people looking to rent it. The LA doesn't actually want to do a lot of work heavily marketing the property and showing lots of people around who figure out it's not worth the asking price so they'll just let the price do the work and show just a few people around and whoever offers the asking price first gets put forward to the LL.

Try not going into an agency and offering 6 months rent up front. They'll think you want the property for something else...such as for growing drugs. Try and secure the property using your income rather than your savings.

dannim12345

I think it totally depends on how in demand the place is. If its been on the market awhile definitely worth a shot.

Guest101

If it's been on for more than a few months, then negotiating is normal


A LL would rather get 90% of something than 0% of the full rent.

frugalsmurf

As others have said it depends on the property. If it's a popular location or a then you may not be able to negotiate.

Ive had 25 off a 625 rent Before but other than that, nothing . I don't think it's common to get a lot knocked off .

theartfullodger

Beware offering 6months rent: Landlord/agent may suspect you of planning on a cannabis farm or a brothel (no offence).

I regret I am sometimes a little hard-line on these situations: If someone says "..would you rent it for £xxx a month less" I've been know to reply - "didn;t realise the price was flexible, it's now £xx a month more.... "

However, if on for a month nothing to lose trying: Except losing somewhere to sleep: More than 10% off would probably "surprise" me...