Tenant's Market?

The rental market is soft, whether you're talking residential or commercial the story isn't pretty.

I spend more of my time looking at residential and I've been thinking about this change. Over the last few years more and more fees and special clauses have been piled on tenants.

There are lease clauses that say you have to have the chimney cleaned before you leave. There are clauses that say you have to have the carpets professionally steam cleaned before moving out. There are deductibles charged any time a service call is made. There are clauses that state that tenants will make repairs on anything under $200 with their own money.

And, now there are lots and lots of empty rental properties. So will the pendulum swing the other way?

My hunch is it will to some extent. You're already seeing apartment complexes running all kinds of specials to lure tenants in.

We've had a buyer's market for several years now.

Welcome to the tenants' market?!

RE: Tenant's Market?

I think that the biggest reason for this is not the fees or changes in the lease, I think it's that people in the market for a rental have terrible credit due to foreclosures/short sales/bankruptcies and cannot get approved for a lease.  I'm currently a renter and I don't have a problem with cleaning the carpets at the end of the lease (it is our dirt afterall and our lease does require it) and making minor repairs (and we do even though our lease doesn't say we have to).  I think in these times that the rental management companies need to look at the big picture and not just the FICO score.  Do the applicants have job(s)?  Is the rent signficantly less than what they were paying on their foreclosed home?  Can they get a co-signer (I'm amazed how many management companies won't allow this)?  Can they pay an extra month or two deposit to cover the landlord's risk?  If management companies are more willing to do these things, they may see a decline in available inventory.