Ask your landlord for lower rent

MarketWatch.com gives the reasons why:

There are several reasons landlords may be willing to make a deal these days.

Eighty-eight percent of property owners who participated in a recent Rent.com survey said that job losses are contributing to vacancy rates. Fifty percent said would-be tenants can't afford rent or are trying to save, and 45% said that the trend of more people doubling up with roommates is causing units to sit vacant. The survey polled owners representing 3,192 apartment communities throughout the country.

Plus, there's even more inventory to compete with these days because in sluggish housing markets many homeowners rent their homes instead of selling, said Peggy Abkemeier, general manager of Rent.com. And some renters are becoming homeowners as affordability improves and the government entices them with a first-time buyer tax credit. ...

In response to vacancies, 68% of landlords said they were lowering rents and 68% also said they were giving one or more months of rent free; 38% said they were reducing deposits; and 18% were offering upgrades or allowing more leniency for breaking leases or changing status, according to the Rent.com survey. Fifteen percent are offering storage or parking at reduced rates, and 8% are relaxing pet policies. ...

And yet another survey by TransUnion, which screens credit for property-management companies, found that half of property managers are having difficulty locating qualified renters, compared with last year. Eighty-one percent are concerned they won't find reliable tenants for the rest of 2009.

Lessors of real estate are earning significantly less so far this year, according to Sageworks, a financial information company. Profits are falling, company research shows, and empty units cost money to maintain.

Personally, in my apartment complex in Centreville, Virginia, I'm surrounded by empty units. Still, my landlord is trying to slightly raise my rent above the going rate for new tenants.