Staying outside your hometown can be hard especially for first-timers who have recently relocated to a new city. They can face many challenges — renting a house is one of them. They have to consider many factors when looking out to renting a house like its location, the amenities, and especially affordability. And living out in big cities, negotiating rent with the landlord can be a big mess for them!
So you have finally taken the big decision of moving outside your hometown. Brace yourself for the many challenges you will face once you decide to move to a new city. First of all, you will find the challenge of finding an affordable home to live in. Secondly, you would also want to live in a great locality with a community of good neighbours, a great marketplace, and nice connectivity to other parts of the city. And, having both usually isn’t the case and thus you would have to settle for a PG or a hostel. But did you know that if you act smartly, you can even consider negotiating rent with your landlord?
This isn’t only the case with the newcomers but tenants across cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune too, have to consider spending a lot of money on paying their rents. The worst part is paying the additional deposit that ranges in lakhs if you want all amenities along with a good location to reside in. You even have to deal with house brokers and pay them their bit too when you are looking for an ideal home to nest in.
Then comes the challenge of dealing with landlords whom you may or may not like ending up with. But being a good tenant and maintaining a healthy relationship is necessary to survive outside your hometown. This is because you can’t afford to change your accommodation every time you end up with an unfavourable landlord and an unfeasible place to reside in. But often your landlord may increase your rent based on his or her will and you may have to settle with it. Or can you talk them into negotiating rent?
Why Should You Consider Negotiating Rent?
Under the norms of Section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, a landlord is liable to revise the rent of his/her inventory, given that they have sent a notice to the tenant. This is why you can’t have a claim on your landlord raising your rent from time to time. Negotiating rent is the only solution to your distress then. But what benefits will negotiating rent with your landlord have? Here are a few to name:
- More Savings
- Putting it towards your retirement
- Paying off your debts
- Buy something new and expensive
- Going on board with a long-planned trip with your friends
So these were some of the reasons why you must always consider negotiating rent with your landlord. But how to convince your landlord to reduce your rent? A few tips listed below will surely help you. So, without further ado, let dive in!
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Tips on Negotiating Rent:
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Ask your landlord if he is open to negotiating rent
Having a conversation is the best solution to any problem. Such is the case even with your landlord for negotiating rent. You need to stay confident and know that you need to talk directly to him/her and share your concerns with the rent being raised. Give your landlord a proper reason why he/she shouldn’t raise your rent and ask if they are open to negotiating rent.
This will not only help you convince them and draw their attention to your issue but will surely build a healthy relationship which is a necessary element for your long term stay at his/her place.
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Consider the renewal of your rental agreement
Ideally, a rental agreement between a landlord and his/her tenants is preferred in cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Chennai in India. It is an important document in the modern age where a landlord hands his tenant a temporary possession of his property on lawful terms. Therefore it does matter in the long run.
When you have already stayed within the property of your landlord till the terms of the rental agreement, it is high time that you renew it before a month of its expiry. This will help you in negotiating rent with your landlord more effectively.
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Have you been a good tenant?
When it comes to landlords in India they can be a lot different. While some landlords may be moody and would like to keep in touch with what is happening inside their property others may even be least bothered by how you live in your rented house. But from your end, have you been a good tenant?
This may seem like a vague question, but you need to understand that without a healthy relationship with your landlord you can’t consider negotiating rent with him/her. You need to work on being a good tenant by proving yourself and keeping him/her happy. You need to get rid of some of your habits that they hate like playing loud music, partying, and even keeping your house dirty.
Being a good tenant, you will surely gain an advantage in negotiating rent and your landlord will think twice before losing an ideal tenant like you.
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Consider doing a bit of adjustment
We Indians are used to doing adjustment and such is the case with your tenancy too. If your landlord is asking too much rent from you, consider setting a certain amount from your end and trying to convince him/her to the same. After all, much like bargaining for grocery items in stores around you, the rental agreement between a landlord and a tenant is bargaining too!
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Consider asking what you do from your end for negotiating rent
Like the tip, we just addressed above, if you haven’t been a good tenant lately you need to convince your landlord that you can be one. For negotiating rent, you need to ask him/her what you can do from your end?
He/She might tell you to take steps like getting a new roommate or even paying some maintenance charges which might help you in negotiating your rent to a coefficient that may meet your needs.
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Frequent and advance rents
Frankly speaking, all landlords hate such tenants who do not pay their rent on time or need a reminder that their rent is due. Try stepping into their shoes, you will realize the distress that they might face when they need to knock at your door to remind you to pay your rent.
If you pay your rent on time, you might have high chances that of negotiating rent with ease. If not, you need to convince your landlord for rent negotiation by starting to pay your rent frequently and even paying them in advance.
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Negotiate directly by writing to your landlord
Everything works well on a written document. So, why not negotiate with your landlord directly by writing to him/her? Much-like how problems can easily be resolved by writing a mail, you need to write to your landlord either on paper or digitally highlighting all the issues you have with a rent raise and why your landlord needs to bring down his rent.
This will surely help you in negotiating rent with your landlord and will even make him obligated to understand the issue you might be bogged down with.
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Explore the market and then consider negotiating your rent
Much like other markets, the rental industry too has its price affected by the current market conditions. Depending on the demand and supply chain, it may have frequent price raise too. This is the reason why you should first do your research about the market, and then consider negotiating your rent with your landlord.
And if your landlord has a raised rent even if the market rates are down, you should consider asking him to reduce your rent. This should work for you as your landlord wouldn’t want you to seek other players in the market.
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Never own a pet if your landlord hates one
Pets — who doesn’t like to keep one at home? They are sometimes adorable, they sometimes make your day, and even some believe that they can help you become better human beings. But does your opinion on pets align with that with your landlord?
When you move in your property, you are given certain terms and conditions to agree upon before and some landlords even might ask you about keeping pets. But in certain cases, you might not even know that you are being eyed for keeping pets at home and your landlord might raise your rent for the reason you might be unaware of. They wouldn’t want to clean their worn-out property once their pet-owning tenant leaves.
If you do not own a pet, bargaining and negotiating rent with your landlord will just be a cakewalk!
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Have a backup plan, in case your negotiation fails to come to terms
There are always chances that despite all the advances from your end, negotiating rent with your landlord will never come to terms. In such cases, you need to have a backup plan prepared which will allow you to think beyond negotiations.
Your plans can include either looking out for better accommodation which will come in your budget or even getting yourself a roommate to share your rent.
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Your decision of living outside your hometown and living in a rental room comes with many ordeals and challenges. Affordability is the biggest among them all and you can afford to change your room now and then in case your landlord raises your rent. Then negotiating rent with him/her come in handy and if acted smartly, you can surely win over your landlord. Our top ten tips listed above should help you out!
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Colive provides the best tech-enabled rental homes across Bangalore, Chennai, and Hyderabad with premium amenities at an affordable rate — an all-in-one package for millennials seeking an ideal space to nest-in. With our chic rooms with modern furniture and contemporary designing, we have become a brand name the millennials love to put their trust in.
Even in the current health crisis and lockdown, we continue providing safe, hygienic, and well-maintained spaces to all our tenants without compromising the services offered. With the corporates directing their employees to work from home, we ensure them an efficient WFH with 24×7 high-speed internet access and coworking spaces.
Visit our website to know more and save yourself from the hassle of negotiating rent with your landlord!
