Housing Is A Human Right has created a special website for current tenants and new renters to lower the rent or win other money-saving concessions. At drivetherentdown.com, people can easily inform themselves and learn key strategies to negotiate with landlords for better deals. The site is must-read.
With more and more data available to current tenants and new renters, informing one’s self before negotiating with a landlord is crucial to strike a good deal. In high-rent states such as California and New York, the ability to lower rent or secure other concessions can result in the savings of hundreds, even thousands, of dollars annually, which can be used for utilities and bills or building a financial nest egg.
Drivetherentdown.com is needed more than ever. Between 2010 and 2019, according to Zillow, American renters paid a staggering $4.5 trillion to landlords. In 2019 alone, Los Angeles tenants shelled out $39.1 billion. In New York, renters spent $56.5 billion. In Chicago, tenants paid $15.1 billion. Massive sums.
Due to the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, tenants who became unemployed or lost work hours are now struggling to pay exorbitant rents — and face the prospect of eviction and homelessness. Before the outbreak, renters were already facing a nationwide housing affordability crisis.
As a result, Housing Is A Human Right believes current tenants and new renters need a user-friendly tool to prepare themselves for negotiating with landlords. The website provides key information in one space, including links to articles about strategies and apartment listing sites and written summaries about negotiation tactics.
“Whether you’re a current tenant or looking for a new apartment,” HHR notes on the website, “gathering information before negotiating with a landlord is key. Realtor, Trulia, Zumper, and the Los Angeles Times all make that point.”
The website has three pages: Current Tenants, New Renters, and Resources. Negotiation tactics are different for each group, with current tenants needing to be strategic in terms of when to approach a landlord and what concessions to ask if a landlord rejects a request to lower rent. New renters, on the other hand, should be aware of special deals that landlords are offering. Both groups should be knowledgeable about rent prices.
With drivetherentdown.com, Housing Is A Human Right seeks to empower renters with helpful information. As we note on the website, “When it comes to dealing with landlords, knowledge is power.”