Almost three quarters of tenants seeking property to rent on FindaProperty.com intend to negotiate a rent reduction from their prospective landlord, as they become more aware of their strong position in the current oversupplied market.
A survey conducted by the property rentals site shows that as many as 72% prospective renters would negotiate the rental price with the landlords, forty five percent would be aiming to get a 5 to10% reduction, while a cheeky seven percent would be looking for at least 10% off the advertised rent.
According to the survey the landlord no longer has the traditional upper hand in rental negotiations, choosing tenants and dictating contract terms, FindaProperty Managing Director Michael O’Flynn says;
“Tenants are aware of their strong position and have been quick to take advantage of it. The oversupply of rental property on the market means that they are happy to look elsewhere if landlords refuse to negotiate on the asking rent, but landlords’ biggest fear is void periods, so many are prepared to do deals now when they would have refused a year ago.” But Flynn also warns that the situation may well revert, by adding; “Tenants may not be calling the shots for too much longer, however, as rental supply declined in June 2009 for the second month, although it still remains 68.4% higher than in June 2008.”
Despite their determination to negotiate rent reductions, tenants were less bold in requesting that landlords pay for ‘extras’ such as council tax and utility bills. Just a quarter of tenants would feel confident asking for these to be included, and only 14% would feel confident asking for satellite TV or broadband.
1 comment so far
1 Peter Quinn // Jul 23, 2009 at 2:00 pm
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Peter Quinn