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One of my high school history teachers used to say, “Timing is everything.” I believed him at the time, and now I believe him even more. Timing really is everything, and right now, it’s a good time to be a renter.
The Wall Street Journal reports that renters have more pull to negotiate their leases as rental rates are falling in many major cities. Vacancies have spiked which means landlords are having to reduce rent to keep their units occupied. This is great news if you’re looking for an apartment or want to renegotiate your lease, because renters have bargaining power right now.
After obsessively checking craigslist for apartments, I went with my soon-to-be roommate to look at a few places. As expected, a couple of the places were great except for some major design flaw (e.g. the lack of a living room). Out of all the places we checked out, there were only two that had everything we wanted, and the one that we liked the best was a little out of the price range we were shooting for.
Of course, the easiest way to get what you want is to ask for it. Ironically, asking for what you want can be one of the hardest things to do. The fear of failure is natural, and we all struggle to overcome it. My best advice — just do it.
So I did it. I asked for what equates to a 4.3% discount on rent, and the owner agreed. It really was that simple. The fact that the owner agreed without a counter offer makes me think that we could have gone even lower.
Don’t forget that rent isn’t the only thing you can negotiate. There’s also the lease term, security deposit, pet deposit, utilities, parking, cable, internet, etc. If you plan on staying at a place for a long time, this would be a good time to try to negotiate a long term lease at lower than usual rental prices.
On the other hand, we actually negotiated our lease term to be shorter, because we’re not sure if we want to stay in the area for the long term yet. The owner was looking for a one year lease, but we asked for a six month lease and got it.
Have you successfully negotiated lower rent? Are you thinking about renegotiating your current lease?
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January 27, 2009 11:39 am
I always give people the advice "you never know unless you ask" which i strongly believe in. However, you are 100% right when you say that asking is the hardest part. I often do not live by the advice I give others, but you have just inspired me. Thank you!
January 27, 2009 11:54 am
This can also work when you're already in a place. I lived in an apartment for several years. Then they changed management companies, and when I went in to sign my new lease, the new rate was about 25% higher than I had been paying. I said I thought that was unreasonable, and the manager said, "Well, the per-square-foot charge for this part of town is X." I said, "I know what the per-square-foot charge is, and yet a 25% increase is too high."
After that conversation, you know how much they wound up raising my rent with that new lease? $4 per month. They knew it was cheaper to have me pay less rent than to force me out and find a new tenant.
January 27, 2009 12:37 pm
Hey - very encouraging. I'm thinking about moving when my lease runs out in a few months and might try and take your advice to talk down the rent wherever I try to move. Thanks for the post. I'm going to post a link to this post on my blog, if you don't mind.
January 27, 2009 1:27 pm
@Jessica
I definitely agree that giving out advice is easier than actually following it. I don't always follow my own advice either, but it can be really rewarding when you do, especially when things work out.
@KateNonymous
It's absolutely true that many landlords would prefer to keep a good existing tenant at lower rent rather than having to find a new one. In fact, some articles have mentioned tenants successfully renegotiating their rent in the middle of their lease.
@Matt
Sure, you can link to it.
January 27, 2009 1:34 pm
And they're certainly not going to throw you out for asking. The worst thing they can say is no, and that just means there's no change.
January 27, 2009 4:51 pm
@Broke Grad
Thanks. I did here: http://interrobangblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/repost-negotiating-rent.html
August 17, 2009 11:29 am
The important thing is your actual income. If you make minimum wage I'm sure landlords everywhere understands this, don't hesitate to think of a deal.
January 18, 2010 10:20 am
probably you can get more than 4.3%. Bargaining is an art which has been lost in the west but which is still very common in other countries.
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