Negotiating Rent and Why You Should Always Do It

by Brooklyn Apartment Rentals on October 20, 2021

Most people don’t know that negotiating rent is even a thing. Just because you have to pay monthly rent, doesn’t mean you can’t get a great deal while saving some cash.

When you hear the term “negotiate”, rent is probably not something that comes to mind. In fact, one’s initial thought might probably be that of a business deal or bargaining prices at a farmers’ market. Most people don’t realize, it is possible to negotiate your rent price. It is important to understand that a landlord operates as a business and are mostly always willing to find a balance of happiness for their client and themselves.

Here are a few pointers for negotiating rent the right way.

Is it worth negotiating your rent?

If you haven’t tried haggling before, you are likely to find yourself feeling a tad nervous about the thought of putting yourself out there. Negotiating is outside of most peoples’ comfort zones. Results will vary from person to person and will depend on different factors (i.e. location and the apartment/ unit being discussed). Ultimately, you’ll never know if you don’t try.

More spending money

In our opinion, it’s always worth negotiating, in the hopes of getting the best possible price for your rental. Since rent prices make a large portion of your monthly expenses, shaving off even a small percentage of your rent means saving thousands of dollars a year.

Negotiating rent as a new tenant

The best way to go about any bargaining is to make the other person feel as if they are winning, too. Think about it in terms of what your potential new landlord would value in return for offering you a reduced rent.

Here are some ideas to consider:

• Can you prepay for several months at once?
  Many private landlords would be thrilled to not have to worry about late rent payments (it’s a major headache that everyone hates dealing with). Offering to pay a few months upfront might persuade your landlord to offer a monthly discount.
• Can you commit to a longer lease?
  If you plan on being there for a while, this could be a big negotiating factor. If the lease in question is for 12 months, ask if they’d be willing to drop the monthly rate in return for signing an 18-month or 24-month lease. Not having to find new renters every 12 months is a good reason to give someone a lower monthly rent price.
• Can you give up a parking spot?
  If you don’t have a car, this may be something to offer your landlord. They can rent the extra spot to a different tenant.
• Does the rental allow pets, but you don’t have a pet?
  Cleaning a unit after a pet-owning resident moves out can cost your landlord or property manager extra time and money. If you don’t have a pet, see if you can use that as a bargaining chip.

These are just a few ideas to get you started; the sky’s the limit. As long as you can approach the other side with something in return that your landlord might value, your chances of lower rent are higher.

Negotiations can be tricky. They don’t make for the most comfortable situations, and you might not have much experience bargaining. Just remember to be confident in your asks, realistic with your expectations, and respectful of your landlord throughout the process. If you can put together an offer where everybody wins, you are much more likely to get what you want.
Negotiating your rent can save you hundreds of dollars every month; it’s all about how you approach it. Find your next apartment on Brooklyn Apartments Rental and remember these tips for negotiating your rent price when it comes time to sign the lease.