Ask TFD Anything: Volume 4 (Patreon)

Hello wonderful Society ~Extra~ members! As part of your membership, every Friday, you'll get access to Ask TFD Anything, our weekly advice column-style newsletter. Want your question answered? Email holly@thefinancialdiet.com with the subject line 'Ask TFD Anything'!

I can’t tell if this is something worth trying to negotiate. Last year our rent was raised by around $300. We really tried to negotiate but were told no at every angle and ultimately we renewed.

This year our renewal offer luckily isn’t as steep: a $38 increase to base rent, but now they’re also trying to raise pet rent by $30 and the reserved parking spaces we pay for by $50, so $118 more overall.

We asked if they’d be willing to keep our current parking rate the same, so knock off $50, but again we’re told they couldn’t do less. While weighing our options, I saw that another unit in our building that’s the same model as ours is being advertised at $148 less per month on their website.

Is this something worth bringing up? I’m guessing since we got turned down last year and that they wouldn’t even budge on parking that we won’t get far trying to lower our base rent, but last year I didn’t have the advantage of pointing to a unit that was the same as ours in the building.

Even if nothing happens, you have absolutely nothing to lose by attempting to negotiate. So yes, of course it is worth bringing up!

I’m not sure where you live, but the first thing to do is to know your rights as a tenant. Your landlord may (unfortunately) be well within their rights to increase your rent and other fees, but do check your state and local laws to make sure their increases are actually legal. Also, always refer back to your original lease to make sure their increases aren’t violating their own agreement, or your state and local laws. For instance, did they give you enough written notice for your rent increase? Is the increase lawful? Is your unit actually rent-controlled? This blog post gives a good overview of knowing your rights as a tenant.

While you should certainly point to the fact that there is an identical unit listed for less than what you’re paying when negotiating, in my opinion, the thing that will work most in your favor is leaning on your history as a tenant. Landlords want you to think you’re immediately replaceable as a tenant so that you get scared into agreeing to whatever rent increase they throw at you. But you and I both know that a responsible tenant who consistently makes rent payments on time is way less risky than trying to fill an open unit for potentially months on end for the sake of a few hundred extra dollars a month. It’s all about the cash flow, baby.

Before your negotiation, put down your track record in writing so that you have something to refer to. List anything that could help your argument. Assuming you haven’t missed any rent payments for the past X amount of years and that you’ve been maintaining your living space to an acceptable standard, start there. Then, list any times management fell short of your expectations. Did they take an exceedingly long time to replace an appliance that broke in your apartment? Is the current waste management situation untenable? Have you been dealing with ongoing issues that directly contradict what you were promised upon signing your lease, such as having to take your washing to a laundromat because the building’s laundry room has been out of order for months now?

Additionally, ask why the monthly pet fee is specifically being raised; if they are forced to admit this increase is somewhat arbitrary, illustrate how your pets are not causing damage to your living space, and the fee therefore should not be increased. You do have a responsibility to pay your rent, but your landlord has a responsibility to follow through with their side of the lease as well — list anything that could work in your favor when it’s time to negotiate.

If at all possible, try your best to speak to someone in person. Speaking with your landlord or a representative from their office on the phone (or worse, over email) adds a layer of distance that I would argue won’t work in your favor. You want to appeal to them on a human level, and a face-to-face conversation is the best way to accomplish that. That being said, get anything you agree to in writing as soon as possible! Best of luck with your rent negotiations — remember that the worst thing they can say is “no,” so there’s no use not trying.

<3 Holly, Creative Director of The Financial Diet