In the midst of a historic eviction crisis, renters with the privilege of affording rent suddenly have the leverage for concessions from landlords, like free parking and other perks .
Landlords are increasingly willing to offer concessions or perks to potential tenants rather than lower rent as the pandemic impacts the rental market," reports Jacqueline Thomsen, sharing the findings of new data from Zillow.
"The survey of Zillow listings showed that 30.4% of rental listings on the service featured concessions, compared to 16.2% of listings in February and 12.5% last July," according to Thomsen.
"Those concessions can range anywhere from a month off rent, free access to a parking space or even a gift card," but these are perks, not a permanent benefit like lower rent. Analysis of the data also reveals that the rising number concessions reverses the trends that were underway previous to the pandemic.
The data also offers a geographic breakdown of the rising supply of landlord concessions. "Rents in Washington, D.C. are most likely to come across concessions, with 57.5% of Zillow listings featuring at least one perk. Charlotte comes in at second, with 53% of listings, and Austin next, with 47.1%."
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