Asking to reduce rent

Antigone05

I contacted the letting agg. in regards to my rental amount as i noticed next door to me (identical apartments, all same lanlords etc..) was on daft fro 1150 a month where i pay 1300.

so after giving the example to the letting agent on the phone she rang me back within 10 minutes after speaking to the lanlord who offered me 50 quid off instead.

i asked why considering its being advertised for 1150., she then said a total of 1250 was agreed instead,

...sure...

my lease is up 2 months now, should i just look elsewhere?

bugler

If they don't play ball then yes. But I'd stick to your guns. Say you're moving if they don't drop to 1150 or less. Lots of rental properties out there now, and I'd be very very surprised if that place went for 1250 - this is most likely a bluff.

Of course this ignores factors like how attached you are to the place, the hassle of moving etc. But in terms of the rent you can save money.

frag420

move in nxt door.

techdiver

If they don't comply with your request to reduce the rent in line with the market value, then I would move.

There are plenty of excellent quality apartments/houses out there at the moment for a much more reasonable rate then 12 months ago.

sadista

Letting agents are really stingey when it comes to lowering the rent.The most ive ever been offered as a discount by them is 50euro.
Ill be in the same boat as you in a few months. Identical houses in my estate are being let for 150 - 200 less than what im paying per month but I have a private landlord who I get on well with so I dont know how to approach the subject of asking him for a reduction in rent.

techdiver

sadista wrote: »

Letting agents are really stingey when it comes to lowering the rent.The most ive ever been offered as a discount by them is 50euro.
Ill be in the same boat as you in a few months. Identical houses in my estate are being let for 150 - 200 less than what im paying per month but I have a private landlord who I get on well with so I dont know how to approach the subject of asking him for a reduction in rent.

Our letting agent has offered to lower the rent by €200. The decision rests with the owner of the property. The agent simply acts as a middle man.

EDIT: 1 bedroom apartment. €1200 reduced to €1000

sadista

techdiver wrote: »

Our letting agent has offered to lower the rent by €200. The decision rests with the owner of the property. The agent simply acts as a middle man.

EDIT: 1 bedroom apartment. €1200 reduced to €1000

Perhaps the current economic climate has forced them to rethink. I much prefer dealing directly with the Landlord though.

techdiver

sadista wrote: »

Perhaps the current economic climate has forced them to rethink. I much prefer dealing directly with the Landlord though.

I suppose it can go both ways. I just like the security of knowing everything is above board and registered. I've never had that with a "standalone" landlord.

There are pros and cons to both situations I suppose.;)

sadista

techdiver wrote: »

I suppose it can go both ways. I just like the security of knowing everything is above board and registered. I've never had that with a "standalone" landlord.

There are pros and cons to both situations I suppose.;)

I would agree with you there, Some of my mates have had private landlords who are complete pr**ks. We were blessed with ours, he's a lovely chap and he's very fair, he even pays for the bins and the tv licence.
Thats why I'd feel bad asking him for a reduction though, he's been so good to us. I'd hate to give him up for a letting agent or an a-hole landlord. I dont think we have much of a choice though because we are going to be one tenant down when the lease is up as he is moving on so the remaining 3 of us will have to pay more rent cuz we dont want a complete stranger living with us. What to do??

LEIN

Paying €1,350 lease up next month and told that there will be no decrease! So its bye bye from me.

michael_23

Same, currently paying 1950. Our lease is up for renewal at end of FEB but if there's no reduction its cheerio and on to somewhere else. There is so much value in the rental market right now even compared to this time last year!!

S12

Same happened to me: paying 1300, offered a reduction to 1250, so I moved to some where else for 1300 but got an extra bedroom, extra bathroom, huge living area etc. So worth it!

3DataModem

In December 2003 I got a reduction from 1500 to 1350 on rent I was paying.

If you are dealing direct with your landlord and they are a normal Joe (not a professional landlord)... then you have a good chance.

Finding a new tenant is a big hassle. 10% = roughly one rent payment over a year. If the tenants were good then I'd probably agree. In the current climate I'd almost certainly agree.

(Unless you are my tenant reading this - then just leave it as it is:))

WhoWhenWhere?

Antigone05 wrote: »

I contacted the letting agg. in regards to my rental amount as i noticed next door to me (identical apartments, all same lanlords etc..) was on daft fro 1150 a month where i pay 1300.

so after giving the example to the letting agent on the phone she rang me back within 10 minutes after speaking to the lanlord who offered me 50 quid off instead.

i asked why considering its being advertised for 1150., she then said a total of 1250 was agreed instead,

...sure...

my lease is up 2 months now, should i just look elsewhere?

Just tell them you found a better deal and won't be renewing the contract but would consider staying if the price was reduced to 1150.

If they don't bit just move, there are plenty of cheaper prices out there.

dirtydress

You're not actually entitled to anything. You've signed a lease which lasts another two months, only when the lease is up is the landlord obligated to drop (or raise) the rent in line with market rates. The lease is a contract where you have promised to pay a certain amount for a certain period. If they agree to drop it before the lease is up consider yourself lucky.

shoegirl

techdiver wrote: »

I suppose it can go both ways. I just like the security of knowing everything is above board and registered. I've never had that with a "standalone" landlord.

There are pros and cons to both situations I suppose.;)

The agents are not necessarily legit and above board either.
3 years ago a friend and myself rented from a supposedly legit agent who was a local auctioneer in a large Cork town. We discovered after a while that the place was in his wife's name and they were renting it out under the counter, and not declaring it for tax.


They were doing this through the legitimate agency, I suspect they spotted good tenants and told us that there was "something wrong" with the place we had originally viewed and pushed us toward the auctioneers own property instead.