Can you haggle with letting agents?

Johnnytoxic

Johnnytoxic

Johnnytoxic

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I'm looking to rent a property it's in a newish apartment complex, so I would think it would be quite sought after.

It's advertised at £350/month. Would I be able get it to 325 you think?
 
Definitely worth a try.

I knocked them down from £625 to £600 to get the house I'm currently in. If the place has been empty for a while, I think they'll be more inclined to drop the price.

It's not much in the grand scheme of things but every little helps.
 
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Of course you can, doesn't mean you'll get anywhere.

My current place I made them put into the contract they would redecorate the bathroom and install a shower.

I always find that saying you are willingly to sign and pay deposit there and then works wonders.
 
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I did, they wanted £600pcm got it down to £525.

Granted this was 4 years ago and areas differ, but the reason I got it cheaper was a glut of unrented flats at the time.

Couple of months ago when it came to renew they put the rent up to £600 so I kindly thanked them and moved on somewhere else.
 
Yes

the problem with the brits is they are too polite and pay face value for everything.

YOu can certainly get them to come down a few quid
 
Forde said:
Any tips to share?
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Ask how long the property has been on the market for. If its been a few months then a reduction of £50 a month (and moving in asap) will earn the landlord more than if it was off the market for another month before someone lets it at full price (based on a 12 month let)
 
As an English young professional who can move in immediately with good references I usually try and get at least 15% off, there damn fee's can often be negotiated also!

One thing i'm not sure on though is negotiating rent with renting just a room, through a site like spareroom.com, is that often done?
 
It's worth a go, if you don't ask, you don't get.

That said the trend at the moment is, there are more people than properties and rental prices are on the rise.

Landlords can afford to be fussy if they are that way inclined.
 
There is a thread on a particular downbeat housing forum that will tell you lots of good tips although I don't know if it is against this forums rules to link it. (anyone?)

In my own experience, trying to find a professional apartment in Sheffield over the last 2 weeks has been hard at this time. Anything near the city centre has gone within days - this is due to a horde of foreign students with more money than sense descending upon the city and hoovering everything up like locusts. I think it is particularly tough this year as there is a rush to get into uni before the fees rise. Needless to say there was no negotiating on the price as it was the renters market. If your flat is out of town and not in a student city then go for it, otherwise you may come up aginst what I did.
 
Really depends on supply and demand in your area but its certainly worth a go. As a tenant I had to accept the asking rent down in Lancing as suitable properties only came up once a week and were always taken quickly.
As a landlord my place in Crawley spent two months waiting for a tenant, then I reduced the rent by £25 per month and got somebody, if somebody had offered me £25 or £50 a month less in those first two months I might will have accepted it.
 
TMP said:
As an English young professional who can move in immediately with good references I usually try and get at least 15% off, there damn fee's can often be negotiated also!
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@OP - if you're renting an apartment yourself then try this tbh... there should usually be room for negotiation.

One thing i'm not sure on though is negotiating rent with renting just a room, through a site like spareroom.com, is that often done?
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Not often - tis usually a joint tenancy agreement so the rent is already agreed for the flat as a whole and split between the current tenants - if you pay less then they'll need to pay more for their rooms.

Exception to this would be subletting - if you're not replacing a tenant but merely taking their room while they go away with work for a few months say then you might be able to negotiate - they just want someone to fill the room for a bit so might be prepared to take a hit on the rent, or they might have inflated the price a bit hoping to make some money and so there is room for negotiation.
 
MBennett said:
There is a thread on a particular downbeat housing forum that will tell you lots of good tips although I don't know if it is against this forums rules to link it. (anyone?)
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Can't see why that'd be be against the rules, I'd be interested to read that.

Having a mare trying to find a decent flat in High Wycombe where I start a job in 2 weeks. Places I'm interested in have been appearing and disappearing within a day or two on the property websites. Going to end up in a hotel at this rate.
 
Always worth it. I knocked off £25 (ok so not a lot) per month for my current flat.

Also it does depend how long the property has been vacant - the longer it has been the more likely they will open to offers.

However, in a newish place, it might be harder, but it just depends on how much interest they've had.

You have nothing to lose, and £25 a month to gain! Heck even if it's not £25 and you knock £5 off, it's still £60 a year - why not?! :D
 
Always try, a useful *trick* can be to offer to take it for a longer period, say 12 months rather than 6, or 18 rather than 12. As mentioned, if you can counter them risking a month without any rent it's probably worth 25-50 a month to them to know it will be occupied
 
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