Tenant negotiating lease renewal

[Nicholas Rice]

Hi BP!

Just a little background, I signed this tenant in early spring. Since it was a slow time of year, I had the apartment advertised as a rent special of $950/month until August 1st, then renewing as a year lease at $1050/month. We signed a lease until August 1st with those terms, and she has been a great tenant. Always pays on time, easy communication, keeps the place clean, and even does some raking and landscaping.

My tenant has now asked if I could not increase rent, stating her yard work as a reason for keeping it the same. The yard work is negligible in my opinion. My first thought is to compromise and only increase her rent by $50 per month.  What would you do? Would you stay firm with the original agreement or negotiate with a good tenant to keep them happy and in place? 

[Sylvia B.]

Originally posted by @Nicholas Rice:

@Jacob Sampson Great point and I completely agree, I'd hate to end up with a worse tenant if she decided to move.

Decisions  based on fear are rarely good ones.