It’s no secret that renting an apartment can be expensive. That’s why, whether you are renting a new apartment or renewing your lease, learning how to negotiate your rent is an important skill to have so that you can get the most bang for your buck and enjoy living in an affordable place. Read on for a few things to consider if you’re thinking about negotiating your rent.
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Why and when you should consider negotiating your rent
As previously mentioned, rent is often expensive — and you would certainly benefit from paying less, especially if you are a current college student or recent graduate with not a lot of extra money to spare.
A good time to attempt to negotiate rent is before you sign a lease with the landlord or property manager. It’s a good idea to consider negotiating rent if 1) if you are renewing your lease and it comes with a rent increase or 2) your new lease comes with really high rent or other pricey fees. (Some of these other fees could include move-in fees such as the administration fee or monthly charges such as pet rent.)
In general, winter is also a good time of year for you to try to negotiate rent because it’s a slower time compared to the summer moving rush.
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The landlord’s willingness to negotiate
Before you jump right into negotiation, you should definitely figure out how willing your landlord is to negotiate. If you try to have a discussion with your landlord and find out that they have a really firm nonnegotiable stance, it may be best to not push any further and just stay on good terms with them. After all, you still want to be on their good side because they are ultimately the one who decides whether you get approved for your lease or if your lease gets renewed. However, if you begin to have this conversation with your landlord and find that they are potentially open to negotiation, don’t hesitate to take that opportunity.
Be prepared.
When you negotiate, it’s crucial that you have done your research beforehand and come across as knowing what you’re talking about. One thing you should do is research the rental prices for other apartment units in the area and compare them to what your landlord is offering you. This can involve researching rental prices in the neighborhood in general and/or specific units within the complex you’re going to be staying in. Knowing these comparative costs can help you make a good case as to why you should have lower rent. For example, if a similar unit in your same apartment complex is significantly cheaper than yours, you should bring this up to the landlord and make the case for why you deserve to pay the same amount as for that other unit. It’s also a good idea to have important documents on hand so you can reference them easily, such as the prices for other units, your previous rent payment record, references from previous landlords, your credit score, and any other documentation you may feel is necessary.
Show your landlord that you’re a good tenant.
Your landlord will be much more willing to agree to lower your rent if you’re able to prove that you’re a good, reliable tenant. Generally, it’s a good sign if you have a reliable income (about three times the rent price), a good rental history, good credit, and no legal issues. Showing that you’re a reliable tenant can certainly set a solid foundation for the relationship between you and your landlord; however, you will still need to make a case for yourself.
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Offer something in return to your landlord.
Part of making a case for yourself is being able to offer something valuable to the landlord in return. You need to show them why it would be beneficial for them to lower your rent — which may sound like a daunting task, but of course, there are ways to do so gracefully. For example, you can offer to take care of some of the maintenance work in your unit instead of filing a maintenance request, which can help take some burden off of the landlord. If you offer to take care of small maintenance repairs by taking a home improvement loan, this can help save the landlord time and money and thus make them more amenable to lowering your rent.
You can also offer to pay several months’ rent upfront, which could potentially sway the landlord in your favor. Doing so will prove that you do have the funds available to pay for rent, while in the long run, you’d be paying less overall.
Negotiating rent doesn’t have to be a scary process; just make sure that you come into the conversation prepared, and you may be able to convince your landlord to lower your rent.
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