10 Unexpected Benefits to Negotiate When You Sign a New Lease (Besides Rent)

Buying a location has consistently trended toward unaffordable successful the past fewer years, but truthful has renting: The median rent crossed the U.S. successful January 2020 sat astatine $1,585 and peaked astatine $2,053 conscionable 2.5 years later. While rent prices have begun to level out and adjacent driblet successful immoderate areas, it’s inactive a load for many.

Inventory and request besides person somewhat stabilized successful caller months, truthful immoderate tenants are successfully negotiating for cheaper monthly rent. But if your landlord oregon spot manager won’t budge oregon wants to rise rent connected your existing lease, effort asking for these other perks that tin alteration non-rent costs and summation your prime of life.

(Note that you’ll person much leverage if you’re a top-tier tenant with a past of on-time payments and nary harm connected your record.)

Pet policies

If you wage a monthly favored interest successful summation to your rent and your favored has a sparkling behaviour record, inquire if you tin person this interest reduced oregon waived entirely. You could besides petition a refund for your favored deposit to get a small spot of other currency successful your pocket. And if your landlord doesn’t let pets oregon enforces breed restrictions, spot if there’s immoderate country to budge.

Amenity and inferior fees

Currently paying an other interest for entree to your flat building’s pool, gym, oregon different amenities? Ask if you tin person this outgo waived—same if it’s a mandatory interest for each tenants and you don’t really utilize these perks. If you wage utilities straight to spot management, effort negotiating these arsenic well.

Upgrades

If you person aesthetic upgrades oregon plan ideas successful caput that are prohibited by your lease presumption (painting, for example), effort asking for flexibility to marque changes. You tin besides inquire your landlord to swap retired aged locks oregon thermostats with astute versions.

New oregon further appliances

Don’t person a washer and dryer? Assuming there’s abstraction and a hookup, inquire if your landlord volition put successful them arsenic portion of the rent price. You tin besides effort requesting a dishwasher oregon upgrades to an outdated refrigerator oregon range.

A amended unit

Is determination a larger portion oregon 1 with amended views, features, oregon floorplan that’s vacant? See if you tin construe a rent summation into an upgraded space.

Extra storage

If your gathering has onsite retention units oregon immoderate abstraction that could beryllium converted for storage, inquire if you tin usage it to escaped up country successful your rental.

Parking

If you wage for a parking spot oregon pass, effort asking your spot to comp the interest (or springiness you a 2nd spot for escaped if your household has much than 1 car). If your gathering has permit-based impermanent parking, inquire for further passes astatine nary other cost.

Professional services

Professional cleaning tin beryllium a luxury for renters, arsenic tin benefits similar landscaping and window-washing. Ask if your landlord tin screen these extras a fewer times during your lease term.

Security deposit

Some landlords whitethorn beryllium consenting to budge connected the information deposit, either reducing it, waiving it, oregon returning it if you’re a existent tenant renewing your lease. Providing references from erstwhile tenancy whitethorn assistance person a landlord to instrumentality this risk.

A escaped period of rent

Your landlord whitethorn not budge connected the monthly full for rent, but you could effort to person them to springiness you 1 for escaped by renewing your lease for an extended play oregon during a slower clip for rental turnover (such arsenic betwixt schoolhouse years).