Box: Tips to help you lower your rent

xx

Do it in writing

Svetia Deshais, Dell Celeridad and Rizik Al Shalabi all sent emails to their landlords asking for rent reductions with varying degrees of detail. That enabled them to be clear, polite and concise, and provided breathing room should they need to negotiate, as Ms Celeridad did successfully.

Aim for lower than you want 

Think of an amount you want and shoot for several thousand dirhams below, to give yourself some wiggle room.  “It’s worth a try to negotiate politely, put it in writing and don’t think of the negatives first,” says Mr Celeridad. “You cross it when you get there.”

Do your research

Write an email that includes links to other, comparable properties and deals other companies are offering, advises Mr Deshais. Talk to your neighbours and note the empty properties around you to get a sense of your negotiating power. Ms Deshais says some villas around her home had been empty for months.

Ask for extras

A month or two of free rent is an increasingly common offering for new renters, so it’s worth it to ask when renewing. If there is something else the landlord can offer, for example included utilities – which Mr Celeridad has at her studio – or a new paint job, it’s worth it to ask.

Consider the costs of moving

Briton Tom Shorrock, 37, who works in education, considered a move but ultimately decided he and his wife should stay in their accommodation. In addition to the expense and hassle of moving, as a long time expatriate, he worried about the possibility of having his new rent hiked after just one year. “Rents are going down and it’s a fantastic thing,” he says, “but there is nothing to protect you.”