Before Negotiating a Lease Renewal, Decide What You Really Want
It’s that awful day, many months before your apartment lease actually ends: when the renewal notice arrives and you have to decide to stay or leave much faster than you wanted to think.
The key to a successful negotiation may be what happens before you respond to the landlord’s renewal notice, wrote Nancy Simmons Starrs for the Washington Post. If you’ve decided you want to stay put (because heck it is expensive to relocate), consider what you most want from the landlord .
For example, if rents in your area have risen sharply, you probably won’t get the landlord to agree to a rent cut, but you can persuade him to keep it for another year.
If you expect to be happy in the long run, you can offer to enter into a longer lease in exchange for a better rate. If you think you might be out of town before next year, you can ask for a shorter rental period (but be prepared to pay a little more for the convenience).
Take your time with the renewal paperwork until you look around your apartment and think about what you really need – otherwise it will just make your time there more enjoyable.
I will tell you how I did it. The first time I renewed my lease, I asked and my landlord agreed not to raise the rent. I followed one of Simmons Starrs’ advice – “Remind the landlord of all the ways you were a great tenant and will continue to be a great tenant,” and reminded in a heartfelt email that I was a calm tenant who always paid on time.
The second time I renewed, I was still a solid tenant, but my landlord said he had to raise his rent. I gave him that $ 20 a month (small potatoes I know) but made a few update requests. May I have newer and nicer mini curtains suitable for other devices? Can I get a new microwave oven or at least a new handle instead of the method the previous tenant used with the MacGyver? Can I paint the living room a neutral color of my choice to rid my eyes of the oily beige shade I have hated from day one?
He said yes to all three and he installed new fixtures even before I signed the papers.
And honestly, my next lease renewal is going to fall into my inbox now. I think about it a lot. I would like to know what other aspects of the lease renewal you have successfully negotiated.
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