do i spend money decorating a rented house

[emmathenomad]

hi, opinions please on whether I should spend time and money on decorating a rented house I have signed a lease for a year for? I love putting my own stamp on a house (always owned previously) but am currently renting a house after a separation but want to be able to buy in next two years again. Do owners get annoyed or do they appreciate it if it is looked after?

Check your contract as they may not allow it, or may want it putting back to how it was.

csn you decorate in ways that you can move to your new house? Art work, soft furnishings etc!

You may not be allowed to. If the house needs decorating because it's run down, the landlord may cough up.

As a LL myself, I would say OK - but only neutral colours, which probably aren't the colours you want to use.

You need to get permission from the landlord first as some contracts forbid any changes to decor and some insist that you return it to what it was when you moved in - so it may not be worth it if you arent staying long.

Definitely discus with your landlord first!

Nothing permanent, your contract is likely to request you don't change anything and you could easily be charged for repainting.
But large wall art, mirrors and soft furnishings yes to an use all of those to change the space.

Depends on your contract. When I rented I spent time and money making my homes look nice - whether new curtains, rugs, lights, plants... All of the nice things you do to make somewhere homely but without permanent changes like painting walls. Having said that I wouldn't have rented anywhere with gross carpets or horrible coloured walls and managed to get some landlords to paint before I moved in.

With permission it can be done BUT if you decide you like “sky blue pink” you may get a redecoration cost deducted from your deposit to return it to a neutral colour

Well you need to ask the LL first!

Get permission in writing!

IF you get permission, really think about what the conditions are. IF you have to return it to the colour it is (magnolia) then choose only very light colours painting over dark is no fun!!

if you really want to paint it in other colours, maybe draw up a plan with the colours included & get permission for that.

A poster, a while ago, had done a really lovely job of decorating her rental property, it looked lovely, but the LL still insisted she returned it to magnolia. She was very, very pissed off. But it's the LL's property & he wanted it as it was. 💁🏻‍♀️

secondly, it's entirely up to you whether you want to spend the time, money & effort on it. To me it would definitely be worth it IF I could get permission to leave it the colour I wanted to paint it (say pale white) or if we could agree on a colour I preferred to the existing magnolia, even if not MY first choice. (Say pale grey)

id have to think very carefully if they were insistent on it being repainted magnolia at the end of my tenancy.

I own my house now & would hate to go back to renting, for many reasons, but this being one of them.

when I was young & renting, I became very good at making a place mine, without redecorating!!

if you can do that, then do & put the extra into a separate savings account for something nice when you buy!!

it's a balance between making it home & not wasting resources on a place you don't own!

Any rented place I've stayed in has had a strict no decorating without landlord permission rule in the contract, even things like hanging up a picture if you want to put a nail in the wall. Definitely don't do anything without asking the landlord! You could be breaching your contract and get charged for fixing anything you've changed

Oh & on the other side of it, as a LL I have done a variety of things

said no (newly painted in white & made clear before they moved in that I was not open to redecoration)

said yes, but need to agree colours.

said yes, we could choose colours together & I'd pay the decorator (had previously had the walls skimmed & painted, was not open to some rough painting!!)

said yes, they could paint as long as it wasn't 'special' paint (blackboard/glitter/etc).

it depended on the property, condition of the walls, how carefully I thought they'd do it etc etc

people should be able to make it their home, but not at the cost of devaluing the property.

best of luck with it all !!

As others have said you need to discuss this with your LL.
As well as decoration this also includes hanging up pictures as the holes damage their property.

Soft furnishing and plants etc are the ideal way of making a space your own. Plus when you move you can take it all with you. It will also ensure that you get your full deposit back and a good reference should you need to rent again next year.

plus although you’ve signed a year the owner could decide in 6 months to sell up and serve you the appropriate eviction notice.

you can use CommandStrips to hang pictures without damaging the walls. and so you can probably arrange furniture / lamps / shelves etc to make it feel like your own without having to waste money on permanent decor.

I wouldn't. It's a waste of your money, which could go towards your legal fees/stamp duty for your house purchase.

And whether the owner objects will depend on your landlord. You would need to ask them.

It makes it nicer for you to live in but you could encourage the landlord to sell up or ask you for more rent. Just beware it should be a waste of your time and money; my friend fully decorated two houses and was evicted so the landlord would sell.

I am in the same predicament and am checking out removable wallpaper. You stick it on and just peel it off at the end of the lease.