UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hello everyone .
Need some advice please , we rent out a 2 bedroom house privately to a couple and a young child .
The rent was reduced as an arrangement between us due to the Male tenant being furloughed In March and the wife went on maternity leave shortly after . The rent was £250 less than the Original  full rent .
They are now saying they can not afford the full rent anymore and can we reach an agreement to keep the rent at a reduced price for the long term . I offered them half way and they came back with a measly £25 more than what they are paying now so I am still out of pocket .

He is looking for a new job as he is not sure he will be kept on and she is still on maternity leave .

Any suggestions what to do ?  Contract is due to be renewed in sept .
I am concerned when they both return to work then they will be able to afford the full rent but the contract will be at the lower rent .

I could go through an agent and get in new tenants but tbh the agents would take a percentage and I would be left with not much more anyway . Maybe £100 a month more ?

Can private landlords get rent insurance ?

Many thanks

Say - "no, we cannot reduce the rent" - you shouldn't have in the beginning, but offer to let them pay less while they're struggling, which you can then still count as arrears / a debt which you can define a payment plan for. You appear to have been naïve in reducing the rent by £250. You could have taken £250 less rent while they're struggling, but have that paid back, at - say - an extra £50 a month, when they're back on track... giving you your income and making them think you did them a kind turn and also having the effort of probably retaining you a captive audience. Everyone wins!

The trouble is that you jumped. The trouble is you've now started negotiations... so you might end up with somewhere between £25 and £250 or just a big heap of trouble. You shouldn't have done this. I'd try to reel it all back in... "either you come back up to [rent minus £100] or I accept the [lower rent plus £25] but the other £225 is considered arrears that you will need to pay" and gauge the reaction to that. I expect it'll be fun. If they agree, get something in writing.

Anyway, on to more pressing topics that I think you'll be interested in... I have these magic beans that I think would suit you very well, do you want to buy some from me? You've got to act quickly, as demand is very high... I take PayPal.