Wednesday 8 May 2013

Tenancy renewal (this time for me)

I'm currently renting an apartment in HK.  Whilst i don't enjoy giving away my money to pay someone else's mortgage, i currently have little choice given (a) the relative cost of property here, (b) the new tax measures in place to deter non-residents from buying property, and (c) my lack of a long term plan of how long i'll be based here.

Rental contracts in HK are typically for 2 years, with the ability to exit after around 1 year. I've been in the same apartment for close to 2 years now, and whilst i'm reasonably comfortable with the amount of rent i currently pay, my contract is close to ending.

I'd like to stay where i am (its a good location and i hate moving), and i've made initial contract with the landlord to negotiate a new tenancy agreement.  I'm waiting for feedback on the new rental level to be proposed by the landlord.

I've heard many stories of extortionate increases being requested, so i'm expecting the worst and i'm prepared to move if the proposal is too high.  The one thing in my favour is that there has recently been a shift in market sentiment for HK property, which will hopefully keep the negotiations to a sensible level.

To be continued...

2 comments:

  1. Depends on the landlord.

    My own preference is the keep tenants in the units as long as possible and minimise the vacancies, agents' commissions etc even if it means haveing a slightly below market rent.

    That said, some tenants can be a pain and there have been a few that I have been glad to see the back of over the years.

    FWIW, I have had a lease up for renewal recently and the market rent was a bit higher than it was two years ago but down on where it would have been one year ago.

    Cheers
    traineeinvestor

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  2. Hi traineeinvestor

    My approach to being a landlord sounds similar to yours. Hopefully my landlord also shares this view! (still waiting for further news)

    Cheers

    ReplyDelete