Ramit Sethi renegotiated his rent four times over 11 years in New York City by researching the market and positioning himself as a reliable tenant. Most renters don't try because they think rent is fixed, but landlords actually prefer keeping good tenants over finding new ones.
You actually can negotiate your rent. People pop out of the woodwork and tell me 50 different ways that can't be done. And then when I tell them I have done it multiple times in New York City, they simply refuse to believe it. Look at these comments. But it is true. You actually can negotiate your rent. And the people who say that can't be done, I just simply ask them, have you ever tried? They go, no. Then how the hell would you know? Why would we listen to you instead of someone who's actually done it? The vast majority of people— I'm talking over 99% of people— do not know what is going on with housing prices in their own neighborhood. So when you say rents cannot be negotiated, what you're really saying is, this makes me uncomfortable. I've never heard of anyone doing it. And so therefore, I'm going to say no. Now, if you are a responsible tenant, you pay on time, you're not disruptive, you are valuable. To the landlord, way more valuable than you think. So that gives you power when it comes time to negotiate. I lived in an apartment in New York City for 11 years, and between that time I negotiated my rent 4 times over those 11 years. How? I freaking did my homework and I made it easy for them to say yes.
