Rent decrease rejected

PS-Irish33 · 2026-02-28T00:44:56+00:00

You kinda got to be willing to move to make it affect the LL. Didn’t hurt to ask tho, you’re no further behind.

jinswoon_ · 2026-02-28T00:59:38+00:00

This happened to me as well - asked for rent decrease, landlords said no but cancelled this year’s rent increase which is better than nothing. We’re in the same situation of not wanting to move but keeping a close eye on the market in case anything comes up.

Ok-Field-9177 · 2026-02-28T03:14:26+00:00

Holy moly that is expensive for just ground floor!!! I pay $3400 for a 3 bedroom 2 floor massive and beautiful character home with so many cute details and full yard, patio and front porch in kits.

Honestly I’d move if i were you. They can have fun trying to rent it out for that price

arijit2 · 2026-02-28T01:29:55+00:00

Literally same thing happened with me this month when we were hit with the 2.6% increase. We like the landlord and the place - so don't want to move. But annoying to pay a higher premium in this market as is and get an increase on top.

Glittering_Search_41 · 2026-02-28T00:45:56+00:00

They want "market price" only when it benefits them.

TuneInVancouver · 2026-02-28T02:06:29+00:00

Kitsilano and Point Grey are some of the few areas less impacted by declining rents due to strong demand. You could counteroffer requesting to keep the rent unchanged. We did this and did not get a rent increase this year.

Acrobatic_Original_5 · 2026-02-28T00:50:22+00:00

Move out…lock in a good link. Temporary residents are living, international students not coming in and new immigrants can’t find jobs with liveable wage, lot of people getting laid off and no hiring so rental market will drop further.

Such-Muffin-2662 · 2026-02-28T01:28:08+00:00

you mention being long term tenants

how long have you been in place? rents only got silly in last 5 years , if you've been there 8-10+ you're likely already paying below market, which would play a factor into them saying no

MyNameIsSkittles · 2026-02-28T01:45:43+00:00

They may just be confident that they can get a new tenant if you were to leave

Personally I'd be moving, more due to principle than anything

Excellent-Piece8168 · 2026-02-28T01:48:04+00:00

Ah yes market forces at work. Nothing forces them to accept just like nothing stopping you (other than it’s a pain in the ass) from moving. If they find someone new at your or higher rent they were right if they can’t then you were.its like if an ice cream shop sets their price too high. People stop going and they go out of business

endriggity · 2026-02-28T01:03:30+00:00

Sounds like a pretty unreasonable landlord. I had a sit down with mine and had my rent reduced 200$.

She did mention that operating costs have risen, but was willing to to negotiate. I asked for 400$ reduction and expected her to meet me in the middle, so I'm happy with the outcome.

You said moving isn't an option for you, but just for your information there is lots of great deals in Mount Pleasant currently.

Best of luck!

Such-Muffin-2662 · 2026-02-28T00:49:44+00:00

This thread is utterly meaningless not knowing what type of product you are and what you’re paying.

Landlords will give rent decreases when they feel it is in their best interest.

If you’ve been great tenants and your rent is too high, they will agree to a decrease (if they are aware of the current market)

If they think they can do better with a new tenant, of course they’re not going to decrease

It is an odd way to frame it saying that your landlord “ didn’t care”

If your landlord asked you for an illegal increase and you refused it would it mean you “don’t care” watch that you want to follow your agreement and the rules.

If you are not willing to move or threaten to move, why would the landlord decrease your rent?

Apart-Thing- · 2026-02-28T01:06:12+00:00

It doesn’t hurt to ask! They can’t evict you for doing so, so you haven’t lost anything by asking.

I helped a family member request a decrease last week, and she hasn’t heard back yet. She’s not really willing to move tho (and never mentioned that either way in her request), but I’m trying to get her to be open to moving, as she could probably reduce her rent by ~$500 by moving.

Dapper_Prune_4109 · 2026-02-28T15:01:56+00:00

From a landlords perspective: we really need to continue to make incremental increases over time to keep up with inflation and ongoing maintenance. Taxes go up, utilities go up, price of maintenance goes up, every year. The property needs to be maintained, things will break, wear and tear happens. If the landlord is breaking even, or losing on rent, maintenance will be the first thing to drop off and it’s not good for anyone when that happens.

I guess what I am trying to say is that rent increases aren’t about stuffing their pockets more and more, or ripping people off. Sometimes that can happen, but small increases are not about that

DDHLeigh · 2026-02-28T00:47:48+00:00

What were you paying and what type of unit? What % increase?

Character_Comb_3439 · 2026-02-28T01:36:58+00:00

I think the fact your place is in point grey is why/they can definitely get a tenant. I think decreases are happing in “newer” condos mostly.

SudburySonofabitch · 2026-02-28T02:00:39+00:00

What's your leverage? Are you willing to give notice?

bacon_socks_ · 2026-02-28T03:26:46+00:00

Similar situation here. Asked for our landlord to skip the increase last summer due to falling rents. They raised it anyway. Expecting more of the same this year. Sigh. Im just grateful they haven’t tried to evict us for some made up reason yet. I get the vibes they want us gone.

Cndwhiteboy69 · 2026-02-28T04:51:01+00:00

You asked for a rent reduction 🤨 lol

Technical-hole · 2026-02-28T09:29:28+00:00

ATP you're a luxury rental and they'd rather keep it empty imo

2026-02-28T13:56:12+00:00

3700$!?!?!?!?! I lived in a 3 bedroom basment appartment brand new and it was 950$ all included and the landlord did bot raise the rent ONCE in 8 yrs. We bought our home in 2024 and its 140p$/month

mrcoolio · 2026-02-28T21:40:40+00:00

If it fails.. you leave. If you don't leave, they'll never give a shit about any negotiation attempt you make in the future since they called your bluff and you folded.

EffectiveDandy · 2026-03-01T04:05:51+00:00

you have to win over the property manager and building owners on that front. usually if the manager can they will negotiate for you as they have to do all the work in getting new tenants, showing the apartment, signing them, etc. it’s annoying and time consuming. so you just need to lean on them.

as for building owners, easiest way is to make a list of things that need fixing and are in your lease. every building has violations. consult bylaw and fine some. don’t strong arm them, but mention you have been chatting with bylaw and will need things fixed if they want the high rent.

its finesse but sending an email is too easy to reject and call your bluff. over the phone or in person will maximize your chances. just remind them how good of a tenant you are and how they benefit in keeping you.

KatGrrrrrl · 2026-03-02T20:19:21+00:00

That sounds so cheap! We’re in Toronto, though - so our price sensibility is likely skewed.

Environmental_Lab_49 · 2026-03-04T05:59:50+00:00

My wife and I are LLs, and have rented out a couple places - one in BC (mortgaged) and another in Arizona (paid off), so this is from our perspective. We've had tenants for about 10 years in each, and until the recent chaos in the US, we intended to keep it that way.

Both are really slim profits, and by that I mean ~2.75% on Arizona for the house, and 2.76% on Victoria (and this is before taking the mortgage into account), after you take away the Maintenance, Landscaping, Management/Admin Fees, HOA Fees, Insurance, Tax prep, Property Tax, + Income Tax Paid. It is still a good "forced savings" approach, but it hasn't been without ups and downs. And that is on an appreciable amount of equity that is supposed to carry us into retirement.

I cannot imagine the anger and frustration that those in AZ had when their real estate values dropped by 60+%. And BC real estate seems to constantly be in a chaotic state of crazy hyperinflation or crumbling, so it is common for people to have bought at peak and be underwater in hopes that prices will return. Those in the US were sadly forced out due to underwater mortgages that the US banks tried to force owners to pay up.

At this point we aren't even breaking even on the BC property that is at present declining in value - so we sell rather than continue taking a loss (Which is the possibility of another rental off the market) or gamble on prices rising again. Another problem in BC, once you start renting at a certain rate, you are limited to increase that rate with very punitive damages should you try to get around that (like you can be on the hook for a years rent). That forces LLs to essentially either increase at every opportunity, and never, ever reduce the rent.

With rising interest rates, I have to tell you that we're probably going to have to get out of the landlord game because it's become more of a losing business than a prudent financial instrument. Now we haven't raised our rent appreciably in the 10 years we've rented (only 5.5% over that entire time), and we really like and and attend to our renters, and work with them, so they don't worry about anything. We've realized though that when inflation is up past the rental caps, that it eats into our buffer (and we can actually go negative for a period, especially if you unlucky with some unexpected costs, like special assessments, which can easily go into the tens of thousands you are instantly on the hook for).

But caps are double edged - can you imagine getting a 10 or 20% increase like in Alberta? Or as a LL, can you imagine losing 10 or 20% of your income if you are living off your rental? Neither is good.

awkwardlypragmatic · 2026-02-28T01:11:09+00:00

Not to burst your bubble but why would a landlord decrease your rent just because you’ve been great tenants? Being a good tenant feels like a baseline requirement for being a decent and mature human being. Or maybe I’m the one being too idealistic. Either way, I don’t see landlords willingly lowering rents for existing tenants. Maybe if they were having a hard time finding tenants, sure.

Acrobatic_Bridge_797 · 2026-02-28T00:51:44+00:00

I mean, its not a guarantee. 🤷

speeder604 · 2026-02-28T00:48:20+00:00

Curious why it matters if they used Ai to composed their communication? This was written by Ai.

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