free rent

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   A period during which someone lives in or uses a place without paying rent.

   Grammar: Uncountable: free rent, not 'a free rent'. It often follows 'get' or 'offer'.

   Patterns

   • get free rent
   • offer free rent
   • three months of free rent

   The landlord offered three months of free rent to attract a new tenant.

   After the fire, the family lived in the apartment with free rent for half a year.

2. 2noununcountablebusiness

   A benefit in a commercial lease in which the tenant pays nothing for a set number of months.

   Grammar: Used in business talk about offices and stores: negotiate free rent.

   Patterns

   • negotiate free rent
   • a free rent period

   The startup negotiated six months of free rent before signing the office lease.

   Free rent periods are common when there are many empty stores downtown.

Common combinations

three months of free rent

The ad promised three months of free rent for new tenants.

offer free rent

To fill the building, the owner decided to offer free rent for a year.

negotiate free rent

You can often negotiate free rent if the market is slow.

free rent period

The free rent period ends in March, so the rent will go up then.

Synonyms and how they differ

rent-free

An adverb or adjective meaning without paying rent; 'free rent' is a noun, as in 'we got free rent'.

rent abatement

A formal legal term for a reduction or pause in rent, often used in contracts.

Opposites

Word family

rent noun

Money paid regularly for the use of a home, office, or land.

renter noun

A person who pays to use a place.

Commonly confused: free rent or rent-free?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “free rent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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