05/08/2026
CAN A LANDLORD CHANGE THEIR MIND AFTER PROMISING TO REDUCE YOUR RENT?
A tenant hits financial hardship. The landlord says, "It's fine, just pay less until things improve." The tenant does, relieved. Months later, the landlord demands the shortfall, insisting the original rent still applies. Does that verbal promise actually count?
The tenancy agreement is still the starting point. Both parties are bound by what they signed, including the rent amount. Simply saying "pay less" doesn't automatically rewrite the contract on its own. Properly changing an agreement usually requires certain formalities, but the law also recognises that fairness matters. This is where a principle called promissory estoppel comes in. In simple terms, it stops someone from going back on a clear promise they made, if they knew the other person would rely on it, and that person actually did rely on it. It only works as a defence; you can use it to stop someone from enforcing a right against you, but you can't use it to sue someone on its own.
Imagine a landlord who, during a difficult period like a war or economic downturn, tells a struggling tenant to just pay half the rent until things improve. The tenant accepts and pays the reduced amount for a long stretch of time, fully relying on that promise. Once conditions improve, the landlord suddenly demands the difference for the entire period the discount was in place. This is exactly the kind of situation the law steps in to prevent. Because the landlord made a clear promise, and the tenant relied on it, the landlord cannot turn around and demand the unpaid difference for that past period.
This doesn't mean every rent reduction becomes permanent. The promise usually only pauses the landlord's right to the full rent for as long as the circumstances justify it , it doesn't cancel that right completely. Whether a landlord can later claim the shortfall from the discounted period depends heavily on the specific facts, and whether it would be unfair to allow such a claim.
