Money Moral Dilemma: Should I reduce my furloughed tenant's rent?

MSE_Kelvin

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

I rent out a house to a married couple. The husband is retired and the wife works full-time, but has just been furloughed and says she will now only get £2,500/mth - 75% of her wages - due to the cap on what the state will pay. As a result, she has asked me to reduce their rent of £750/mth by 25%, yet her furloughed wages plus whatever her husband's pension is will still be considerably more than my income. Am I being mean if I don't reduce their rent?

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Prokofiev

£2500 a month should be more than enough to pay your rent, or their spending priorities are wrong. Guess it depends partly on how good they are as tenants in terms of looking after the property and being no hassle. Might be worth offering it for two months or something to keep them happy? Cheeky to ask though

sharpe106

If you can't afford it then why should you? they will still have enough to pays the bills they will not be starving. How do they plan on making it back up? 

Theseconddeebo

Not really enough detail. Are they good tenants? Have they been in place a long time without issues? Would it be better to agree this on a strictly temporary basis than attempt to replace them whenever the current situation blows over? How would the reduction impact the OP/person asking the question's ability to pay their own costs in relation to this let. 

[Deleted User]

Recent article
https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/sudbury-landlord-clive-millard-freezes-rent-payments-for-tenant-1-6594998

borderline

so she gets £2500 a month and can't pay the rent ??? my rent is  £770 plus bills and I don't earn nowhere  near what she gets ! what does she do with the money.. jeez.

diggingdude

Ask them to do a budget as they should be able to afford it on that money

EoinD_2

We're in the same situation; but felt we had no alternative but to say 'yes', as the chances of finding another tenant at the moment would be difficult/impossible. We've given them 3 months, however, I worry about what they will do to repay the arrears, or what happens if this isn't over in 6 months. 

behelpful

Do they have any income other than the wife's salary, e.g. husband's pension, savings/investments? Hence, what is the % decrease in their joint income, after tax? This is the maximum reduction she should be asking for.

Then there is the moral question of how much of the burden she should bear and how much you should bear.

Hil277

Your tenants probably haven’t realised this yet, but, because of the lockdown, their outgoings will be down - no work related travel costs (petrol is costing less as well), no socialising or meals out, no shopping trips (a lot of stores shut for non essential goods), no  holidays, etc. So they should be able to budget and keep paying the rent. Perhaps they should give it a month’s trial and come back to you if there’s still a problem.

Troiselle

There is  lot of support out there  for most people and so as a professional HMO ( house of multiple occupation) landlord myself with numerous mortgages, many bills and 3 children I simply cannot afford to reduce rent or give rent holidays. The word "holiday" is being interpreted by some as a freebie and in fact any mortgage "holiday" I may be entitled to is still repayable with accrued interest. If it wasn't I would absolutely pass at least some of that saving on to my tenants who needed it. I have made concessions at my cost amounting to around £100 to £200 per month across properties and I know its appreciated by our tenants.
Why is there an assumption that landlords are wealthy enough to give away their income??. We already have  to deal with above average voids and tenants who are simply unable to pay.
Is anyone  asking the utility suppliers to throw in 3 months free gas and electric? Or free water rates or a biggie,  council tax? The roof over your head, heat,  light and food are necessities and should of course be prioritised. Lets not forget the savings on holidays , going out, gym memberships, hairdressers,  etc etc . All of this needs to be included in the bigger picture and a smaller budget. 
Mine certainly is!