Rent Reduction

[buzybee]

I've already signed another years lease on the house im renting, but over the past few months my rent supplement has been reduced forcing me to pay more everyweek. I already feel the pressure of it, and with a young kid at school and me not been able to find another job im thinking of asking the landlord to bring down the rent.

can i ask him to do this? or because ive signed the lease am i unable to?? the prices of renting 2 beds here have all gone down in the past few month too.

[stonekicker]

you can ask him, but he doesn't have to do it. at the end of the day you have signed the lease so all you can do is give your notice and move somewhere cheaper. but, if you do that, it will cost money and take a long time for the changes in rent to pay for themselves. if you have a decent landlord (and they are very hard to find!) i would stay put and find a way to manage the extra cost. i have had to pay an excess of �75 a month out of benefits in the past to maintain my home and its not easy, but it is possible. good luck x

[buildersmate]

Yes, the time to do this is as the lease comes up for renewal - not shortly afterwards.
You are now locked into whatever minimum period you re-signed up for - then before the end of that period, start negotiating.
Agreed that rents have fallen and many landlords would be happy to maintain a good tenant in the property at a reduced rent.

[warpig3]

Have you been a good tenant? Have you paid you rent on time and in full (taking into consideration the supplement? Have you maintained the property well as if it were your own home? Is you landlord decent or even half decent?

If the answer to all of these is yes then I see no reason why you should not explain you situation to him/her.

I have a rental property and recently my tenants told me they were moving out as they are buying a place of their own. If they had told me they were moving because they couldnt afford it I would have seriously considered dropping the rent to a more affordeable level for them. I would rather have good tenants who maintain the property, dont upset the neighbours, pay their rent on time than bad tenants who pay all the rent but cause no end of trouble.

Best of luck.