Depends where. If you are moving to a tight market where concessions are rare, then the odds are you will have no negotiating room. Likewise if the market is soft, the unit is in flux due to a potential sale, or every other complex in the area is offering concessions, you may have a chance.

Also, sometimes properties are managed by the owner who will have much more leeway to negotiate. A third party manager or a property managed for an LLC may have less negotiating room. The longer your lease, the better your chance to negotiate.

Thanks for your quick response. I'm not looking to rent an apartment. I want to rent a house. It looks to me like there is an awful lot for sale for this time of year and some of the rent houses available are new construction, never lived in. I'd really like to hear from someone who has been able to negotiate on a rental like this, if you can.

If you have a no pets and don't smoke and have great credit, you are a sought after renter. You can bring up these positives early on. Also - if you only have a couple people only that will be living in the home, it can be desirable(fewer people =less wear and tear on property).

Some landlords will write you off if you try to negotiate or do so the wrong way. Other times they are willing to negotiate a little. It might be easier with a property manager since they are an agent for the owner. Doesn't mean they will negotiate much, if any.

Be aware that when you call, you are being pre-screened based on everything you say and even how you say it.

craigslist dot com has lots of ads for rental properties.

Be aware that when you call, you are being pre-screened based on everything you say and even how you say it.
This is very true, do not ask if the price is negotiable on the phone before you view.
Dress nicely, stress your positives as noted above. Then after viewing, offer less, but only if you really believe there are properties out there for less.
Your market may be tight and you may lose out on a good property.
I would not use just an agent for rentals, many rentals are not with an agent. In my area there are two websites that dominate the market.
Your previous listing agent is getting a split which cuts into your new agents commission. I'd find my own agent for my new purchase after interviewing several.

Then after viewing, offer less, but only if you really believe there are properties out there for less.
Your market may be tight and you may lose out on a good property.

I agree w/ this--approach this much the way you would when buying. Check the market. If you can find lots of houses for rent, and you are a desirable tenant, then you can point this out, later, during negotiations (not during initial contact), and see what they can do. If you don't like what they offer you, go rent one of the other houses that *can* offer you a rent you like.

If there aren't a lot of places to rent, you'll know you have less negotiating room.

also, w/ houses, if it's someone who's renting instead of selling, they might be willing to negotiate with you if you can persuade them that you'd be the kind of tenant who'd keep the place in great shape for them. So ask questions that demonstrate this.

Also check the realtor sites local to where you are moving. The ones by me list the rentals. When my dad had a two family house he used the newspaper. You might also see if there is a local once a week paper.

After selling our home last year, we returned to the Northern Virginia area and decided to rent for a while. We are now in our second rental house.

Price negotiability really depends on your market. In my area, house rents are all over the map. There is definitely room to negotiate but it takes work and patience. Take the advice of the prior posters. But be prepared for rejection. If your new area experienced a big run-up during the boom or was an area with a lot of investment properties, many owners are trying to cover their mortgages. Makes sense. However, it's unrealistic for many owners to cover their mortgages and other costs if the area saw rapid price inflation w/o commensurate increases in income. Rent is very sensitive to income and I've watched many houses sit on the rental market because they're overpriced. It's very hard for owner/investors to accept that they make get only 60-70% of their costs covered. I've negotiated the rents down by several hundred dollars/month on each of my houses. I've also been approached by owners I had talked to during my search who are now ready to meet my price...housing markets are a bit wacky now even if you're just interested in renting. The good news is that you're looking at the worst possible time for landlords w/o tenants. It's late fall/coming up on winter and most families have moved in and settled down until the spring/summer relocation season kicks in. You're in an excellent negotiating position. Be fair and you may find a landlord that will appreciate it.

Also, please don't forget that a good rental agreement isn't just about price. The terms of your lease are equally important. My first landlords failed to sell their home so they rented it BUT wanted to keep it on the market with a lockbox for the entire term of the lease. Needless to say we walked. They came back hanging their heads and we negotiated a much better arrangement for us. Now, this will sound strange but I considered it pretty important. If renting from a private owner w/o the involvement of a property management company, run a credit check on the landlords. There are a lot of homeowners out there teetering on the brink and you don't want a foreclosure/eviction notice after you've gone to the expense and trouble of moving in. The real estate agent should be able to help you.

There are owner/landlords who will try and intimidate you because you're a lowly renter. Don't fall for it. Stay your best assertive homeowning self and don't settle for less than you need.

It pays to know average rents for various types of housing in your market. I had a real estate agent helping me with the first house. She was great. She found places for me to see, called owners with home for sale to see if they might be interested in renting, she had the rental statistics, and she was invaluable in negotiating a lease. There are a lot of accidental landlords in the market right now and they range from decent to just awful. Having a real estate professional helping you with the details of the lease can save you money and enhance your living experience.

The agent did not pressure us to buy. She earns a small leasing commission from the landlord and also earns a potential future buyer...you. We sent our agent a giant gourmet basket of goodies as a thank you and she was thrilled.

I could write a book on the subject of transitioning from homeowner to renter and will be happy to answer any questions you may have down the line. One more piece of advice. Before you begin looking, study the landlord/tenant law in your new area. Most states/counties now have online handbooks and it's best to know your rights and responsibilities upfront.

Also check and see what is included in the rent. If they won't lower the monthly price maybe they will pick up trash service or yard work. Find out what is expected of you as a renter. If the house is in a HOA you may have to meet exterior yard criteria as a condition of the rental. That could mean things like not being able to park on the street overnight. Check that stuff out first.

Rental houses cost more per month than a house payment on a similar property in my town. And the renter is expected to do a certain level of maintaining the property. We ended up including this in the lease because items were often broken by the renter, yet they expected us to fix it. (Something like breaking the garbage disposal because someone ran metal through it would be an example.)

We often used a RE company to act as a finder for us. That's pretty common here and we paid the agent a month's rent as a fee. They knew they could pick up the phone for any negotiations. Some times it was a flat NO based on things like # of kids and pets, if they were a smoker, etc. Our experience just taught us that it was easier to sit with the property empty for a longer time than repair damages.

There are many variables but most landlords would rather have the property rented than sitting empty.

Gloria

Good information. Thank you all. I'm altering the way I approach my search now. I'm afraid I've not been making it obvious what great tenants my hubby & I are, and giving away too much info up front. And I'll try to let the rea work for me but I'll have to see how that goes. She is already trying to push the fact that there are great deals on the market now. I'm sure thats true, but I think they will be there in 6 months and I'm not out to take advantage of someone else's misfortune. Just hate that appeal to greed. The whole house sale experience this time has been disappointing, despite the fact that we sold so quickly. Our agent has so clearly just been there to facilitate the deal for her own profit no matter what concessions we might have to make.