As a landlord, it can be difficult to decide whether you should allow an improvement that a tenant wants to make to your property. You have to decide how the improvement will change the value of the property and how that will affect the home’s future rental prospects.
Obviously, painting the walls in a dark or bright colour would not be ideal, but if the paintwork has seen better days and your tenant wants to repaint in a neutral colour, you should agree as long as the job done professionally. Additionally, making structural changes and putting holes in walls is not something that is usually desirable.
Here are some cost-effective rental-friendly makeovers that you could present to your tenants if they want to update the look of your property and give it more personal style.
Updating the lighting with budget décor for renters
- Changing the electrics in the home is mostly out of the question but you might suggest to your tenants that they get some stylish floor and table lamps to improve the feel of the home and provide more light. And if your tenant is willing to spring for installing an extra powerpoint, or they want you to do so, it’s a deduction and will add to the rentability of your property.
- If your property is an older property with bare bulbs or unfashionable light shades that can be removed, tenants might choose to purchase inexpensive light shades to replace them. Just make sure that your tenant keeps the old shades in a safe place to be reinstalled by your tenant before the tenant moves out and takes their new fittings with them.
Changing the hardware and fixtures
- Changing the door hardware on kitchen cupboards is extremely easy and can change the entire look of the room. Ask your tenant to keep the handles that they’ve removed so you can replace them when the tenant moves out.
- Your tenant could also consider updating the shower head with one that looks more stylish. Once again, this is an easy task and the old shower head can be put away in a cupboard and be replaced before the tenant vacates the property.
- Even door handles can easily be changed up to something more modern as long as the original handles are put away safely and the tenant reinstalls them before they move out.
Add soft furnishings and plants to create a comfortable space
- It’s easy to find cosy and inexpensive throw rugs and floor rugs to lay over carpet and even cold tiles or timber floorboards. These not only help to improve the styling of the room but they also serve to protect the flooring.
- It’s amazing the difference a few plants can make to improve the ambience of any room. There are plenty of hardy indoor plants that will instantly lift the feeling of a room and keep the air clean as well.
- If your property has ugly blinds but they’re still serviceable for blackout and light filtering, then add a curtain rod and your tenant can disguise the blinds with some gorgeous sheer curtains. You might even be able to use spring-loaded curtain rods from hardware stores that are just secured in between the window frame.
Decorate without putting holes in the walls or repainting
- Vinyl wall decals have increased in popularity over the years and there are so many different ones available. These can easily be applied to most wall surfaces and will just peel off without damaging the paintwork underneath. So if your property manager does a regular inspection and finds one of these peel-off decals, don’t panic. They’re easy for your tenant to remove and the wall is easily wiped clean. Just make sure they do this before vacating your property.
- If there are no picture hooks in the home, a tenant can still hang his or her favourite art pieces using removable command hooks or strips. These hooks can then be removed carefully without damaging the paintwork.
Ultimately, it’s up to your property manager to liaise between you and your tenants to ensure that everyone knows what is and what is not allowed. Your property manager will also have access to all the current regulations and can keep you well-informed of which reasonable requests from tenants you should consider and approve.
At the end of the day, you want to keep your quality tenants happy for as long as possible without altering the integrity of your property or decreasing its value.
Can we help with your Northern Beaches property?
To find out more rental-friendly décor and what you as a landlord can do, or you need help selling or renting your property, please give the JDH team a call.
