Hi
I have to renew the contract of my apartment next month, and I'm sure my landlady will want to increase my rent (of course) but I have no idea how much would be reasonable to accept.
Do you know?
I signed a contract for 5500 rmb on 2009 on the area near Fahuazheng rd. and Xingfu rd. I don't know if that's important, but in case.
I'm up to pay a bit more, but not much more, I can't. I have friends that have manage to keep the same rent for four years here, but I know last year rents went up with the Expo. And I know my landlady will try to suck the most out of me, and I have to give her good arguments to negotiate and convince her to keep the rent in a reasonable rate.

So any advice will be much appreciated!

She may not increase the rent. I have lived in places where the rent didn't go up each year.

I'm not sure, but I have heard - and been told by locals - that landlords love foreign tenants as we pay the rent on time and are generally trouble free.

If the landlady suggests a rent increase tell her bye bye and she may have a change of heart.

Gay_Chevara wrote:She may not increase the rent. I have lived in places where the rent didn't go up each year.

I'm not sure, but I have heard - and been told by locals - that landlords love foreign tenants as we pay the rent on time and are generally trouble free.

And also foreigners tend to pay higher prices. A friend of mine was paying around 23,000 RMB 5 minutes from my place where I paid 7,000 RMB. His was definitely a nicer complex but not THAT much nicer.

As an opening bid i would always take the first step by starting to feed the landlady with info that you have been an excellent tenant all the time, kept the apartment well, paid on time, had small things repaired by yourself (if this was the case) and of course you expect a discount upon signing a new contract, so let's go down to 4500-5000.

The landlady most likely will not agree, but it's a good start, as hereby you lowered the opening bid from the current 5500 to 4500-5000, so she most probably will also need to lower her opening otherwise the gap will be more difficult to bridge. In the end you could still face an increase, but at least it is much more likely that the final increase will be more modest.

Yeah, I hear what you are saying guys, but I'm afraid I really don't want to leave this place, and she's a tough lady to bargain. I actually just talked with her to tell her to meet to talk about this, and she said already she was thinking to ask 7000rmb now. A friend told me his rent was didn't raise from 2008 to 2009, but from 2009 to 2010 it went up 20%. I know this is a random biz. I think I can negotiate with her if I tell her rates of growth of the real estate in Shanghai, and the economy growth, and so on. She won't has on her side also that I have a neighbor that's been calling her and the police complaining about noise ... even when nobody has been at home! ... so he has no real reason to complain, but he does it, and that is bothering my landlady, and me of course, and she is not getting the point that I am her client... and the problem is that I don't want to move really, so I guess I'll have to give away something.
But I think with numbers and rates I can get a better deal than just a poker face, at least this time that won't work for me

btw... thanks guys! for the advices, though I still need help