Tenent wants rent reduced

[Lisa Wilson]

Hi,

My tenent's lease is coming to an end in June. She has been on a year to year and has been an excellent tenent (pays on time, takes excellent care of home). She now works part-time (semi-retired) and asked if we would lower the rent by $100 for the following year.

At first I thought, "heck no". But if she moves, I would have to pay the realtor we use to find a new tenent which costs one months rent. In addition, we could be out (best case scenario) two weeks rent (we would need time to clean / get it ready to rent).

When I compare the loss of $1,200/year (reduced rent) vs. $1,650 (realtor fee + 2 wk rent), I'd be better off lowering the rent. My time and effort would also be negatively impacted if she moved.

I'm leaning towards lowering the rent.

Am I missing anything? Is there anything else that I should consider?

Thank you!

LJW

[Kimberly T.]

You could always negotiate with the tenant.  Tell her you normally wouldn't do it, but because she's such a great tenant, you're willing to meet in the middle and lower the rent by $50/month.  Maybe she'll be ok with that.