How to Negotiate Rent When Renewing Lease

View similiar rentals for current market rates.

How you negotiate rent when renewing your lease can mean the difference between a lower rent, no rent increase or an increased rent. You must be willing to invest the time to research the current market value of similar rental units in your area and discuss these prices with your landlord to reduce the rent. Prepare yourself with the rental figures and copies of rental ads before speaking with the landlord.

Instructions

1. Research the rental market in your area. Read online ads at several websites, such as Craigslist or the online edition of the newspaper. Look for rental prices in the classified section of the neighborhood local paper. Walk the neighborhood to view the available rentals. Speak to neighbors and determine their rental rates.

2. Call your landlord about two months before the lease expires. Request an appointment to discuss the new lease. Schedule the appointment for a convenient time for you both.

3. Prepare your negotiation tools. Print online rental ads. Copy newspaper ads. Pick up rental documents from the neighborhood rentals from your walk. Write down the rates from the other renters. Place all these documents into a file.

4. Go through the home. Write down all required repairs or suggested renovations and take digital pictures. List the services required before the apartment may be rented to a new tenant. Add these with prints of the digital pictures to your file.

5. Write an outline for your conversation with the landlord. Decide what rental rate you will ask for and what rental rate you will accept. Arrange the rental rates from the cheapest to the most expensive in your file to show the landlord the current rental rates. Prepare your discussion about the costs the landlord is saving by you remaining as a tenant and point out the work that needs to be done.

6. Show up at the appointment on time with your file. Start the negotiations with a smile on your face. Explain calmly that you would like to remain in the rental provided the two of you can reach an agreement on the fair market value for the rent. Suggest a new rental rate 15 percent below market value.

7. Listen to the landlord's' point of view. Allow him to finish before asking questions. Wait for answers to your questions. Understand his objections before showing him your file. Bring out the lowest rental price ads you found and place them on the table. Place the pictures of the needed repairs on the table. Explain you are willing to be reasonable, but the rent should follow the market. Offer to do the repairs and renovations for a rent reduction.

8. Offer to reschedule the negotiation to a later date, such as the following week, if the negotiations become difficult and nothing seems to be getting accomplished. Ask the landlord if he would like you to leave the items for his review.

9. Return the following week to continue the negotiations until a resolution is reached. Be prepared to walk away from the lease if the landlord will not budge and you have found a comparable rental.

Tips & Warnings

• Compare amenities, such as pools, tennis courts or gyms, in each complex.

References

• Forbes; How To Negotiate Your Rent; Anna Vander Broek' April 2009
• Nolo: Commercial Leases: Negotiate the Best Terms
• Moving to an Apartment: How to Negotiate Your Lease Before You Re-Sign