Can apartment rent be temporarily reduced by landlord (landlady)?

Southern Comfort

My aunt has an apartment which she has rented to the same couple for 3 or 4 years. They are very good tenants and they take good care of it etc. One of them has been temporarily laid off work because of the corona virus pandemic.

Because, as she says, "They are good people," she is wondering if she can temporarily reduce their rent for the next few months without it affecting the lease, going forward.

My opinion to her was that if she put it in writing, future rental increases might have to be 4% of the revised figure.

Could she have a verbal agreement with the tenants?

Does anybody have advice?

Thanks.

I think you are right about it being a change if it's written. Wasn't that a thing during 2008? There was no allowance to reduce rent within the same agreement?

She could always stay informal with a reduction, an offer in good faith but as I'm out of the rental business my information could be wrong.

Good tenants that look after the place and are there 4 years? She is wise to make the effort to keep them.

Southern Comfort

Thanks, Niner. I don't know much about the rental situation but she is in a rent pressure zone.....

Southern Comfort

Mods, can you please correct the word in brackets in the title.

It's meant to be "landlady."

Thanks.

davindub

Of course you can, just inform them in writing so it's clear that it is debt forgiveness and not a rent review.

the_syco

davindub wrote: »

Of course you can, just inform them in writing so it's clear that it is debt forgiveness and not a rent review.

OP; take note of this. If it's worded wrongly, your aunt could shoot herself in the foot.

10pennymixup

You might pick up some pointers here https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057865505 as to why an "official" discount is not a good idea from the LL's POV, and sometimes the tenants.

As per a few posts in the thread perhaps offer unofficial helps such as paying their bills such as oil instead.

endacl

If I were in her position, I'd leave rent as it is. Because I'm nice though, if I were in a position to, I'd pop round the day after the rent was paid with a reasonable chunk of cash in an envelope for the tenants.

Hypothetically. Certainly wouldn't advocate bending any rules to breaking point.

Grumpypants

Don't reduce the monthly amount. But maybe give them a month off. It is hard to put the rent back up afterwards. But a skipped month is a overall discount and a nice big chunk of extra cash right when they need it.

utmbuilder

Maybe have your aunt called Threshold.

They sound like a couple of decent skins she has in her place.

But she needs to protect herself a little here so needs to know the best way to give such a reduction, a period needs to be set also.

At the end of the day the only pitfall you need to avoid one that comes to mind is when people paid interest only on their mortgages
then when the time came to have to pay the full amount again a small fraction of people didnt see the value or the full amount seemed out of reach to them.

If a period is set out, and she follows the rule of the law by asking threshold how to do it casually without long lasting impact's she will be ok.

endacl

Don’t go near bloody Threshold.

Baby01032012

Jesus don’t go bear threshold. They don’t care about decent landlords. They give illegal advice to tenants.

Give the tenant a rent holiday similar to the banks with mortgage holders, defer the rent due for 3 months and agree repayment plan.

Definitely do not reduce rent. As it can not be undone. If you then try to increase you will be limited to the 4% increase not just for these tenants but any future tenants.

MugMugs

endacl wrote: »

If I were in her position, I'd leave rent as it is. Because I'm nice though, if I were in a position to, I'd pop round the day after the rent was paid with a reasonable chunk of cash in an envelope for the tenants.

Hypothetically. Certainly wouldn't advocate bending any rules to breaking point.

There'd still be tax payable on the full amount.

Southern Comfort

Thank you all for your replies.

I spoke to her by phone just now and read out your replies to her.

A concern she has, which she hadn't mentioned before, is that they might look for a more permanent rent reduction if the man who has been laid off doesn't get his full time job back. He works for a company who manufacture products for the building trade.......

DubCount

IMHO, the best option is to leave the rent at the current level. Advise the tenants to pay a reduced amount for a period (say 3 months). This will mean arrears will build up. Assure the tenants that if the rent returns to full payment after defined period, arrears will be written off.

From a RPZ point of view, there has not been a reduction in the tent, so the underlying rent on the property has not changed. From a tax point of view, the write off of the arrears should be an allowable expense.

Browney7

Highly likely rents will come down in a few months if people keep getting laid off and if people aren't rehired after the lockdown is finished (at least a other month of this I reckon).

She should prepare herself for the "we're moving somewhere else if we don't get a reduction" conversation so be careful of giving discounts now or relief.

Is she getting a "market" rent at the minute or discount to other available rentals?

Tar.Aldarion

Yes you can just do it informally, the other my girlfriend asked for a reduction until she gets a new job and got ~20-25% off.

JeffKenna

Southern Comfort wrote: »

Thank you all for your replies.

I spoke to her by phone just now and read out your replies to her.

A concern she has, which she hadn't mentioned before, is that they might look for a more permanent rent reduction if the man who has been laid off doesn't get his full time job back. He works for a company who manufacture products for the building trade.......

Would she not give them a one off rent reduction equating to the reduction over a few months she was planning to give. This would leave the rent at the current levels if things pick up in a few months?

Southern Comfort

Browney7 wrote: »

Highly likely rents will come down in a few months if people keep getting laid off and if people aren't rehired after the lockdown is finished (at least a other month of this I reckon).

She should prepare herself for the "we're moving somewhere else if we don't get a reduction" conversation so be careful of giving discounts now or relief.

Is she getting a "market" rent at the minute or discount to other available rentals?

I think what she charges is a little below the going rate and last year she didn't increase the rent at all. She put it up 4% earlier this year though.