‘Odd’ request from imminent new Uk tenant

[Emkay]

Any UK landlords here? Just had a request from my agent that they described as ‘odd’. New fully checked professional tenants about to move in to my UK house in 2 days. Applied and checked over 6 weeks ago.

The new tenants have now asked for an 8% rent discount if they pay 6 months on advance. They have allegedly just sold a house 5 times the value of mine….1.8m (theirs). I’m wondering about possible red flags?

Reminds me of tales of insolvency etc. Can’t see any benefit to me for such a short term with potential rolling rental after 6 months. Can’t get much on UK savings. The monthly income would be less than over the past 3 years.

Any advice on this would be much appreciated.

[snowingagain]

If you google this you get a miriad of answers. It seems very weird.

[Fraufruit]

Has the rental contract been signed and the deposit paid?

Would they expect to get the discount after the 6 months are up?

Maybe frugality is their love language.

[yesterday]

I used to be a UK landlord, but not anymore ...

Seems to me that they are asking for a rent reduction, if they will rent for a longer time ( 6 months ), if you are not happy about the length, maybe consider asking them for a 1 year ( or more ) contract for the reduction.

Only you can decide how much money you want to for the property in conjunction with the agent.

I would not really describe this arrangement as odd, but I would ask the agent want they think to the arrangement, and what the pitfalls could be.

As said, if its important for you to keep the place rented out for a longer period and nobody else will rent it, then I would consider it as an option as its a stable income for a period of time.

I decided not to be a UK landlord anymore, because I did not want the hassle anymore, and the returns on the stock market, would be about the same or even better. Of course both options have benefits and negatives....

[Emkay]

Many thanks for all your replies. I just spoke to the agent to ask why they think this request is odd.

New tenant signed the full price tenancy agreement yesterday. Agent then issued them with the deposit invoice. Within an hour of signing, they asked for the advance payment discount. Saying, only a discount of 8% would be worth their while for advanced payment.

Can’t see any benefit for me in reducing the rent for advanced payment. It would take me back to 2022 rent before significant interest rate increases. Agent too would get less management fee based on percentage of rent. They say they have never been asked for a discount after an agreement has been signed. Usually, at initial viewing, before application. No discount is usually expected for advanced payments.

Me overthinking as usual , I thought that it’s very common for people to rent short term, 6 months or so, whilst looking for a new property. This intended use is usually an open fact. The agent doesn’t know this might be the case. I’ve a vague recollection from a former bankrupt boss that he needed to pay in advance for a rental property whilst he still had funds available. Not sure if I may have issues with normal monthly payments….

I’ve heard of ‘gazunderung’ just before house sale documents are signed though never on a rental. I wonder how this will pan out…

[kiplette]

Unless you have real trouble finding tenants, I wouldn't go there. That's bonkers. You didn't ask for 6 months in advance, did you?

Also the thing about them having sold a very expensive house? What's that got to do with the price of chips? Bizarre.

And the agent has a point - why didn't they suggest this earlier? Odd bods.

Stuff 'em, I say. No thanks, I don't want your money in advance, I'd rather have it on time and in full. And also you signed for this already. Hello? Nutters.....

Tbf, I would be very put off by this, and I have a tenant who only pays when he fancies, won't let Handwerker in the house and grows black mould in his wardrobe for fun, so my standards are very low

[Emkay]

Has the rental contract been signed and the deposit paid?

Would they expect to get the discount after the 6 months are up?

Maybe frugality is their love language.

Ah yes, frugality might be it. Reminds me of my former South African stepfather. He haggled with everyone, even big stores like Asda Boots, John Lewis etc. Haggling was very much NOT the norm in the UK in the 1980s! Not even now I guess. But he always got something, either a discount or extra freebies.

[bethannbitt]

If it’s unusual where your property is located then I’ld be skeptical too. My son pays up one year in advance where he lives, in Yerevan, and this has caused the landlord to never raise the rent (even when the war in started and fleeing Russians were driving rents up and causing locals to be displaced). He had the same arrangement with his Italian immigrant landlady in SF 15 years ago, and for the same reason. I don’t think it’s weird, but it’s probably unusual except when a rental market is very tight. Requesting a discount after the agreement was signed seems crazy IMO.

[dstanners]

It is unusual (i.e. daft) to make that offer after signing the agreement.
However, it is not in itself odd, particularly if they have just sold a house. Assumedly, they have cash sitting in the bank doing little or nothing, so are taking a punt that it is beneficial to you to have 6 months' rent up front. Corporate landlords in particular may well prefer the cashflow benefit, and offer a discount on that basis (a bird in the hand today being worth 8% more than a bird caught in 6 monthly instalments).
It is also possible that they wish to stick 6 months of rental costs in the last tax year (assuming the agreement was dated pre 6 April).

So, there are good reasons why the request is not odd, but that doesn't mean you should accept it. If you have no specific benefit to having the cash upfront, then ignore the request....after all, they have already signed up to the agreement.

[Emkay]

Thank you all for your thoughts on this. The agent contacted the tenants this morning though until now, have had no reply.

[Feierabend]

I have no time for people who play games like this. The time for negotiating is before signing a contract. So unless you're needing cash in hand urgently, why accept it at a loss? It doesn't make sense to my very unsophisticated financial brain.

[Emkay]

I ended the request by saying that my mortgage doesn’t permit advance payments. Something to do with money laundering etc. All OK now though the tenancy start date has been delayed. I just need to pay more on council tax, utilities etc for the extended void period. I’m very grateful to have an agent that deals with all of that. Their new tenant charges are quite reasonable.

Not sure what happens after the UK renters reform bill soon when fixed term tenancies are no longer possible. I just hope not to have to pay new tenancy charges of ca. £400 more than 1-2 times per year….. And, have to allow pets.

[skadi]

The only time some tenants of mine paid in advance was because they were from Hong Kong - when everyone was escaping - and probably would have had difficulty passing the financial checks. They paid the year in advance in full. However, they did this before signing and didn't ask for a discount. It was a pain because it meant all the income was in one year for tax purposes. After the year, all reverted to normal monthly payments.

8% discount is a wee bit steep in my opinion, their money, their problem. Personally, I'd not touch them and look for someone else - assuming you can survive without the rent a bit longer.

Re pets, I'm happier allowing pets than small children! Some of the rent reforms are going to be a right pain in the proverbial. I shall be glad to sell up in a couple of years and be done with landlording.

[Alberto]

I remember our UK rental agent told us long ago it is not rare for applicants to negotiate on the price (mind you, we changed several different in the last 12yr and nobody ever negotiated on the price).
I would not find odd the tenants trying to lower the price BEFORE signing, but I do find it strange they do this AFTER.

Perhaps they gambled on the fact that since they already signed, they have psychologically more leverage on you.... not sure. Doesn't make sense to me but people do odd things all the time.

Indeed there is a (very small) benefit in you getting the rent earlier rather than later. But not this magnitude.

[Emkay]

The only time some tenants of mine paid in advance was because they were from Hong Kong - when everyone was escaping - and probably would have had difficulty passing the financial checks. They paid the year in advance in full. However, they did this before signing and didn't ask for a discount. It was a pain because it meant all the income was in one year for tax purposes. After the year, all reverted to normal monthly payments.

8% discount is a wee bit steep in my opinion, their money, their problem. Personally, I'd not touch them and look for someone else - assuming you can survive without the rent a bit longer.

Re pets, I'm happier allowing pets than small children! Some of the rent reforms are going to be a right pain in the proverbial. I shall be glad to sell up in a couple of years and be done with landlording.

Many years ago, I did take an advance payment of 3 months (no discount) without realising my mortgage terms. An elderly lady was coping with a shock divorce and had never had her own bank account before. Bless her, she was difficult to start with, expecting light bulbs to be changed for her and regular cleaning. It all evened out over 3 years.

Re pets. I’ve always been OK with cats and smaller pets though from my friend‘s experience of even a small dog in her rental…damage, smell etc, I’d have to decline any dog. Thankfully, my new tenant has neither children nor pets.

[LeonG]

They probably have the money and they are not getting 8% on it in the bank. I would say no to them. You're not getting 8% in the bank either. Also there might be some sort of obscure law you don't know about. In Iceland, if you pay in advance, you gain the right to stay 4 times as long with the same rent.

[dstanners]

I guess this is taking a bit of a tangent, but I'm always surprised when landlords agree to allow small dogs but not larger ones (I allow neither).
So, big generalisation coming from a large dog owner (perhaps I should say that some of my friends..ok very few...are small dog owners) but in my experience, small dogs:
1) are less likely to be trained generally (in NRW there are owners' tests for large dogs, but inexplicably, not for small)
2) bark (or yap) a lot more
3) are more likely to defecate in the house (see point re training)
4) are more likely to be allowed everywhere in the house
5) are more likely to bite visitors
6) are less docile indoors
7) are less likely to be taken for "proper" walks (again, this has consequences for training and indoor defecation)

Now I accept the point that a bite from some sort of rat-type thing is going to cause less damage than a bite from a German shepherd, but as a landlord, I am concerned about damage to property/relations with neighbouring properties.
....and yes, the list was a generalisation, and there are some reasonable small dog owners.

[bethannbitt]

....and yes, the list was a generalisation, and there are some reasonable small dog owners.

Thx for noting that. My 15-16 year old 6,5 Kg Pom-Mix (got him 14 years ago at a dog shelter in Topeka, KS) is actually quite decently behaved. But then I've always given him amazing amounts of exercise and kept him on a healthy diet. He has zero joint problems, and although he walks more slowly than before he can go up and down and onward for 15-20 km walk with no difficulty. Then he sleeps for a day. I always get lotsa kudos at the annual vet check.

Here's what annoys the heck outta me: encountering some ginormous mound of massive poop pellets out in the world! I've always got bags on me and always pick up after my mutt. FGS, how can some of those large dog owners not see the massive mound of poop? It gives all dog owners a bad name.

P.S. I've had big and small dogs and loved them all. I think most problems with dogs are really problems with owners. Many folks aren't up to the job. When this fella finally walks off into the sunset I'm gonna take a long break and enjoy my freedom. A dog is a huge responsibility.