It's can be a tough call, do you let your tenants decorate or not? You don't want your tenants to live in a sterile place without any personalisation; by allowing your tenants to personalise their living space, you are increasing the likelihood that they will be happy tenants and stay a while. However, are you opening the floodgates for tenants make more and more (unapproved) changes, which means you spend more time and money correcting the changes when they move out?
So which side of the line do you stand? The Yes or the No? Or is there a way to create a happy medium? A way to keep control of the quality of the property and the happiness of the tenants?
Yes - Let the Paint Brushes Fly!
There are some distinct advantages to having tenants be involved in decorating their space, after all it is their home, even if it is your house.
You may have just received some free labour. If you haven't redecorated in a while, then it may in fact be worth considering. Find out what their previous experience has been, and you might be pleasantly surprised.
This could be a great selling point when renting out the property. When showing prospective tenants around you might offer that they can redecorate with your approval. This may be the point of difference for prospective tenants who have seen a dozen places all in 'egg shell'. It may mean that you can get them to sign a longer lease.
This could also be used as an incentive to renew their lease. You may want to consider tenants committing to a 6 month lease, and then upon renewal the tenants would be able to paint a certain number of rooms with your approval. This will develop trust, history and incentive.
No - No Way José!
The horror stories are out there about what some tenants have done, and if you have been burned before you will no doubt be on the 'No' side of the line.
Tenants who you allow to paint one room an approved colour and they end up painting the whole house - in black!
They have never painted before and end up painting over light fixtures, outlets, carpet, or even paint around furniture rather than move it.
They try and remodel the house by knocking down walls - load bearing walls.
Happy Medium:
As with anything it comes down expectations laid out at the very start. If you have a lease that outlines what tenants can and can't do, then you have saved a lot of headaches.
Some things that you could consider to include in the lease:
- Have a set of approved colours.
- Approve the colours before work begins.
- You buy the paint, they provide the labour (this ensures that the paint will be in fact, the colour that you approved).
- Inspect the work afterward or supervise the painting.
- An extra deposit. Either a deposit to cover the house, or an extra deposit per each room decorated.
- Stipulation that you have to approve the colour and that you have the right to either keep the change or request that it be painted back to the original upon moving out.
- Spell out what sort of holes in the wall are acceptable for hanging artwork.
- Wallpaper guidelines colours and quality of the installation.
If you have been burned once you won't want to go down that track again, but if you have developed a good relationship and history and/or have good clear guidelines in the beginning, then you both can win.
Where do you stand on this issue? Yes, No, or have you developed a happy medium?
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