have been looking on and off to get a feel for the market. last night an almost identical house came up literally across the road. old single fronted cottage, 3 bedrooms, renovated kitchen and bathroom, larger backyard than ours.
then it has solar hot water, eco-oven and a wood heater with the listing specifically mentioning the owners designing their place with low costs in mind
a better house across the road for $60 less per week than we pay. i am drafting a letter to our agent pointing this out. things have changed a lot in a year. we aren't demanding a rent reduction but are just letting him know that we'd love to stay if they choose to revise the rent, otherwise we are walking because rents have dropped. now its up to them if they want to keep good tenants or not.
the reality is that they won't be getting the current rate next year regardless of who is paying.
