Is rent negotiable?

davidf1412

Now that the market is slowing down would it be reasonable to try to negotiate rent? I've never rented in Dublin before so I don't know whether this is usual or not. I'll be renting near the upper end of the market in Castleknock and presume I'd be a desirable tenant (as a mature single professional) if that makes a difference. Any opinions or advice?

Ice_Box

I’m a landlord and I would say two years ago rent was very negotiable. At the moment it’s going up again. I generally find that most tenants will make an offer bellow the asking rate. If the house has been empty for more than a month Ill take what I can get. If there is lots of interest Ill wait until someone offers me the asking price. You're correct in saying that landlords love it when a single person rents their property.

In conclusion it doesn’t hurt to make an offer but don’t be offended if the landlord says no.

philcsl

I've rented houses / flats in Dublin for around 6 years before I bought a house, I've always tried to negotiate on rent and have found that most flats are not negotiable as there is a big interest in them especially in them and they are generally not empty for more than a week or two.

When I started renting houses I've never paid full asking price and have had reductions of €100 - €300 off the asking price. If the house looks like its been empty for more than a few weeks you will most likely get a reduction as it suits the landlord better to reduce the rent by a couple of hundred and get a tennant immediately than to have a house empty for a month or more... Good luck!!

whizzbang

First off everything is negotiable
Second off daftwatch shows you what the current supply of rental property is like:
http://daftwatch.atspace.com/

As you can see from the second big graph there are a ton of places to rent right now. This is a recent increase in availability so it might take a little while for prices to come falling down, but they are definitely on a downward track.

bugler

That's very interesting, Whizzbang. Last September/October I had a nightmare of a time trying to find a place to rent (1/2 bed for me and my girlfriend, both professionals, both mid-20s with references). I didn't think things had improved.

whizzbang

yeah, that was a bad time, now its much better as you can see! for example my sister was renting out a 2 bed in Dundrum last week and got very few calls about it.

Try ringing around and seeing what other availability is like.

TCollins

bugler wrote:

That's very interesting, Whizzbang. Last September/October I had a nightmare of a time trying to find a place to rent (1/2 bed for me and my girlfriend, both professionals, both mid-20s with references). I didn't think things had improved.

I had the same problem just aftre that time too, looking for a couple of months to find a place. From what my mates who are looking to rent now are telling me its the very same now as it was 6 months ago. Negotiating rent down has been impossible since last August -sep. You only have to look at the amount of people turning up to view properties for rent in your area.

The_Conductor

The rental market may have excess supply at present- but this is traditionally the slow period, it gets really busy again in about 2 months time. Castleknock is a very desireable area though- so if you really want the place, don't play hardball too much with the landlord......