Landlord Being Unreasonable with Rent

B

bigbadostric

Registered User
Messages
62
Hi all,

I signed a one year lease at the start of September to rent a 3 bed with 2 other guys for €1,750 per month. Since then rents have plummeted, and we have all taken a 5-10% paycut.

The landlord in question stubbornly refuses to lower the rent despite us submitting evidence that other houses in the area are going for significantly less. The icing on the cake came when the house next door, which is identical in every way, went for €1,375 last week. That's a whopping €375 a month difference.

I fully appreciate that we signed a lease and I am not the type to walk out on an agreement, but does anyone have any suggestions as to how we could approach him on the subject again? We will obviously be voting with our feet come the end of August.
 
Hi,

suppose you signed a lease 1375euro last august and the landlord came to you now and said that the house beside you had rented for 1750 euro. Would you accept him trying to renegotiate the rent upwards.

He should probably reduce it somewhat if you are good tenants and plan on stay for more than the year. In the current climate , it pays to look after good tenants.
 
steelblue makes a good point and I agree with it.

At least you only have 3 months left on your lease.
 
Both sides protected the rate for 12 months. This time he won. I am sure you won at some stage over the last few years.
 
Wait it out and then move. The landlord isn't being unresonable, you signed a contract.

Take it as a lesson in negotiation skills.
 
Howitzer said:
Wait it out and then move. The landlord isn't being unresonable, you signed a contract.

Take it as a lesson in negotiation skills.
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I think the fact that we were willing to sign a new 1 year contract in return for a reduction suggests that he is most certainly being unreasonable, both in a personal and business sense.

Oh well, as I said I'm not the type to walk out on a signed contract so will stick it out till August!
 
I agree sometimes you win sometimes u win - the contract should hold or what's the point of having one.
 
The landlord is not being unreasonable but unless he's looking to sell the house then he is being a tad stupid. He's got the opportunity to get a new 12 month lease signed with the OP (who seems decent and someone who will abide by the new lease) but he is being rigid to the terms of the (short!) lease and will pay the price when the tenants move out.
 
Leave it to the last minute to sign a new agreement, then when he visits to get the new lease signed.

Show him packed bags, empty cupboards etc and show him you're walking if rent isn't as low as you would like (perhaps even lower than market!?

The thoughts of an empty flat for a week or two looking for a new tenant should prompt some quick recalculations of rent.
 
Leave it to the last, make it look as if you're going to renew then when he turns up
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Presume the OP needs to give a months notice so this is not a runner. I dont think the LL is unreasonable as he may feel he can get it rented quickly - may be foolish given the facts as we see them but he may see things differently. You haven't mentioned any figures for re-signing a lease.
 
Ever thought that the landlord may not be able to afford the drop at this time. 12 months at the higher rate may already be budgeted for. Not every landlord is mega rich with multiple units rolling in the cash, and your landlord has the lease in his favour. You are entitled to a rent review, annually. Your year is not up yet.
 
Or do as alot of tenants do and dont pay next months rent, let him keep deposit and start looking now for a new place.
 
MrMan said:
Or do as alot of tenants do and dont pay next months rent, let him keep deposit and start looking now for a new place.
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You are encouraging the OP to breach their lease ie break a legal contract. How helpful!
 
+1 for MrMan. Lets face it, from someone who has rented a house out in the past. The signed lease is not worth the paper its written on, other than possibly in the case of an eviction after a very long period of time.
 
MrMan said:
Or do as alot of tenants do and dont pay next months rent, let him keep deposit and start looking now for a new place.
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That is terrible advice - the deposit is there to cover any damage to the property & outstanding bills. Please don't encourage people to break the law by not paying their rent, the landlord may be unyielding but they have done nothing wrong and as someone said, the tenant wouldn't be so quick to complain if the rents had shot up over the last year (as they did a few years back).

The landlord has no obligation to lower the rent during the contract, even though many have (me included). I dare say he will reconsider if you make it clear to him that you like the property but you will be moving out at the end of the contract if you can't agree something.

Mr Man - aren't you involved in property & rental?
 
bigbadostric said:
I think the fact that we were willing to sign a new 1 year contract in return for a reduction suggests that he is most certainly being unreasonable, both in a personal and business sense.
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By the way - what rental were you offering ?
 
you seem to only want to sign contracta that suit you and change them also to suit you ie your origanal contract was for 12 mths not 9 mths . how long did you intend to onour this new agreement for ? i would personally do as a previous poster said and in three months offer him/her less than the market at that time to and recoup some of your losses
 
sorry also remind him that if you leave he'll have to upgrade the property , costs involved and he will now need a BER cert and the cost involved in that if you leave etc.
 
shesells said:
You are encouraging the OP to breach their lease ie break a legal contract. How helpful!
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People don't need encouragement, I'm just pointing out a very obvious scenario that happens alot around the country. The tenant in this case seems very reasonable and landlord tenant law in this country is not policed very well so sometimes people have to look out for their own interests.
 

I'm coming at it from a practical viewpoint, the damage is there to cover the damage etc, but the OP doesn't mention damage. The tenant can still legally give notice and be due his deposit back if the landlord manages to find a new tenant in the mean time. By with holding the rent it might change the landlords viewpoint. The landlord will not lose out if he is so confident in maintaining those rental levels.
Again I'm approaching this situation from a practical viewpoint i.e what would usually happen.
 
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