How I negotiated to lower my monthly rent in a tight housing market

Conventional wisdom says you're more likely to negotiate a lower rent if there are plenty of local vacancies. That wasn't the case for us.

• My partner and I negotiated a lower rent in a very tight market.
• Despite only a handful of homes available in our area, we'll save $1,200 this year.
• Here's how we did it.

According to Zillow, as I write this, there are only 7 properties available for rent under $4,000 a month in my city, a small beach town outside Santa Barbara, California.

So when my partner suggested we ask our landlords to lower our rent — which we had already successfully done when we first moved in last year — I thought it'd be an exercise in futility.

Conventional wisdom says you're more likely to be able to negotiate lower rent if there are plenty of local vacancies or when your rental is going for an above-market rate. That wasn't the case for us.

But we asked anyway, and, to my surprise, we'll be saving an extra $1,200 this year.

Here's what I wrote to get the negotiation going:

We have loved living here over the last year and are beginning to put down roots in [our city] and the surrounding area. The unit has been wonderful, and it has easily begun to feel like home. We've been happy to take care of minor repairs on our own, to promptly notify the mangagement company for maintenance requests like leaks, and our payment history is (and will continue to be) flawless. As rental unit owners ourselves, we know how challenging it an be to find reliable tenants who will care for your property the way you would yourself. We know that good tenants make it easier to sleep peacefully, reduce long-term costs in repairs, and diminish the need for management expenses. We'd like to continue being those renants for you, and respectfully request that you consider a renewable 6-month lease term at the current rate of $3,550 per month, or a 1-year lease term at a rate of $3,450.

The property management company representing the owners of our 2-bedroom, 3-bathroom unit came back offering a $50 a month discount for a 1-year lease term, or $100 off each month if we signed a 2-year lease, which we were happy to do.

Remember your value as a good tenant

My partner and I own small condo units elsewhere in the state, which we rented out when we moved to our city for his new job. We have each had tenants across the spectrum of model leaseholders to downright abusive renters.

Based on what we learned when we moved in, our landlords had a similar experience with a difficult tenant just before us. The tenant caused extensive damage to the unit and might have been renting it illegally through Airbnb. We're a quiet couple who keeps our home clean and in good repair, and we always pay on time, so we leveraged those facts in our negotiation.

Be creative with your asks — and flexible with your expectations

Part of our initial ask included a variation on the lease term (6 months instead of a year), showing our landlords we were open to options other than a standard 1-year lease. We also included the rate we would ultimately be more comfortable paying as an option rather than trying to lowball the owners of our unit by asking for a significant cut or vastly undervaluing the unit.

They returned with a more agreeable rate either way and were open to our preferred amount if we were willing to sign a longer lease. While we didn't initially think about a 2-year lease, which puts pressure on both of us concerning job stability, the consequences for breaking a 2-year lease are the same as breaking a 1-year term, so why not go for the savings?

Get used to asking for what you want

We never would have gotten anywhere had I let my feelings of discomfort get in the way of our negotiating. To me, negotiating feels unnatural and, to some extent, even entitled, especially when it comes to big commitments like rent, where (to me) it feels like the landlord is doing us a favor by extending the lease so we don't have to deal with the stress of finding a new place that'll accept our two dogs or, god forbid, moving.

For our landlord, negotiating is just business. Remembering that will serve me well, and maybe it will serve you well, too.