What percentage can one expect to negotiate off of rent?

No, dirtyrotten, I don't think people are setting rents at a premium and discounting, like an inflated car sticker price. I'm a landlord and I would never do that, it doesn't make sense for a whole lot of reasons that are probably better left for another thread. Plus I see no evidence whatsoever that this is happening. (That doesn't mean it doesn't happen, I just haven't seen/heard of it)

How much of a concession you can get depends entirely on the market for the apartment you want. If it's a dead area/building you'll find it much easier to get more.

So, what 'hood are we talking about?

Other thing: No Fee apartments are going to have lower rents, in general, or have one month free. I'm noticing that Owner Pays [Fee] and One Month Free tend to be bedfellows.

{Manhattan real estate agent.}

Dirtyrotten, i do think landlords are asking last year's rent, expecting to give a concession - whether we call that a premium or not is also best left for another thread. I have just recently been through this (last 30 days) and concessions were offered almost immediately on apts i looked at in West Village.

20 to 25 % off is market -- if they do not give it to you -- MOVE! you will pay for the costs of moving in short order...

I'm actually looking to move now. Its got nothing to do with my current rent, as it is very low. I'm trying to negotiate with landlords/management companies on their asking rents. I just call it a "premium" because it seems like many places have not lowered their asking. And we all know that rent has been falling.

Fluter, the places I'm looking at are in Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill. And I've been looking at quite a few No Fee places. Although, I haven't liked any those places enough to put in an application, they also are not advertising any concessions. So it seems like there is some room for negotiation.

I'd love to get a month free. That's basically discounting the rents by 1/13 for a one-year lease. So that is 7.7%. Maybe I should just ask for 8% off.

if you dont really need to move, wait till october. summer is still summer, and landlords have been a bit tighter negotiating rents that they were over the winter and spring. i don't know of any landlord who is discounting asking rents by 20-25 percent.

i just got to $1950 from $2400 on upper east side

dr, Brooklyn is still trying to hang on to yesteryear, especially in the neighborhoods you specify. IMHO, Carroll Gardens landlords got very comfortable (arrogant?) with the incredible run-up in values there. Will rents hold? I doubt it. But it seems landlords are trying.

I agree with eastside, though. Hold out as long as you can. Keep looking. Keep negotiating.

wow -- good deal ukrguy

just shaved off 25% on my lease renewal in prime chelsea

Thanks. I've actually been trying to negotiate at new buildings where there are many empty units. Some won't budge at all. Others have been more flexible but I'm still looking for a better deal. I wonder about places like the Viridian where there are over 100 apts and more than 3/4 are not occupied, why are they not willing to negotiate?

Ah, well, new buildings. You never really know. Is it financing issues? Greed? Arrogance? Laziness? No real need to see the building full? Only time will tell.

Here's a Brownstoner thread on the Viridian:

www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2009/07/viridian_rental.php#comments

No secrets revealed, but no one defends the asks in that place. I didn't really know anything about the Viridian, but yikes! They'd need a herd of very dumb renters.

dirtyrotten - i think it all depends on the bldg/unit/owner. We started a lease in July (3 br, UWS) at a 25% discount ($5500) from asking price in Jan '09 ($7500), which is when we first saw the place (and i don't think $7500 was peak price either). Things just need to be properly aligned and you can get decent deals.

Despite all the negative press the Viridian has been getting, I think the place is nice. I mean the finishes, etc. The amenities are obviously not there and probably won't be for awhile, although those shady sales people insist they will be completed soon.

The problem is the rents are way overpriced for that area. There are no trains (G doesn't count because it only runs btwn BK and QNS). All the other similarly sized apts in the area are much cheaper. I asked the sales guy there, if they could negotiate the rents and he said "not really, maybe $25 less, but not really negotiable." That may be just a sales tactic but its a poor one and I'm no longer interested in even trying to negotiate anymore because of that comment.

dirtyrotten, if you want to getn an onsite leasing agent to substantially lower a rent, you have to approach the negotiation from the standpoint of saying something along the lines of "if i were willing to sign a lease today would you give me this unit for x". then you will see how negotiable they really are.
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It depends on the landlord, how long property stays on market, how many tenants apply for this property. From my personal experience, the resolvable amount that landlords are likely to discount is 5%-15% of asking price. It easy to negotiate the rent if you have a good credit and great references from previous landlord. In this case, you may even negotiate the rent without personal meeting with landlord. For example, this rental service https://rentberry.com/custom-offers allows to ask the lower price online. I think it’s very convenient, especially if you’re afraid of face-to-face negotiations.

Why are you reviving a post from 7 years ago?

clearly to advertise the rentberry service!

If you try to rent after the summer Nov-Feb you can usually get the best deals.

I don't know why streeteasy hasn't been moderating these posts from RIVLINDA ("RentBerry") and the discount brokerage firms like RiddhiBman. It decreases the value for other readers!!

It all really depends on many factors and variables. One of them can be how many days the unit has been on market. Another can be it's flaws such as perhaps no elevator, 6th floor walk up and other walk ups in the area have more incentives. Generally, I have found that you can offer $200 off and you will get some sort of counteroffer back whether it is $100 or $50 off instead. I recently was able to secure an apartment for clients $300 below asking because I'd shown the unit so many times, I knew how many days it was exactly on market and all of it's flaws. I was also able to get the landlord to pay me the broker's fee. CHeck out my website www.ReniCabreja.com for discussions like these on my blog.

Find a place that's been on the market for at least a month and make an offer near the end of the month. Most people look to move on the 1st and landlords may not want to risk losing another month's rent through vacancy.