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A couple hundred quid isn't going to make much of a dent in the deposit I need, but I get where you're coming from.
Decorating rented house
- Thread starter Telecaster
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Soldato
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I can't believe the amount of people saying dont spend any money on it.
If its semi-decent then fine, but if its very old decor why wouldn't you want to spend a couple of hundred quid making it look bearable.
My girlfriend (when I very first met her)moved into a rented property with no kitchen other than a sink with the cupboard under it and a single piece of worktop big enough to get a washing machine underneath.
She had a kitchen fitted for £600, obviously nothing fancy, but given that the rent was £100 lower than it should have been (and was immediately put up when we moved out), I consider that after 6 months living in the property, the lower rent paid for kitchen.
I moved in with her and eventually we replaced the kitchen carpet with a smarter looking Lino as well which was around £120ish and an extra wall cupboard to match the rest of the kitchen at a cost of about £90.
We knew we wouldn't get the money back but it made the property a lot nicer to live in for the 2ish years she/we were there.
spending £100-£150 on paint/carpet seems reasonable to me.
If its semi-decent then fine, but if its very old decor why wouldn't you want to spend a couple of hundred quid making it look bearable.
My girlfriend (when I very first met her)moved into a rented property with no kitchen other than a sink with the cupboard under it and a single piece of worktop big enough to get a washing machine underneath.
She had a kitchen fitted for £600, obviously nothing fancy, but given that the rent was £100 lower than it should have been (and was immediately put up when we moved out), I consider that after 6 months living in the property, the lower rent paid for kitchen.
I moved in with her and eventually we replaced the kitchen carpet with a smarter looking Lino as well which was around £120ish and an extra wall cupboard to match the rest of the kitchen at a cost of about £90.
We knew we wouldn't get the money back but it made the property a lot nicer to live in for the 2ish years she/we were there.
spending £100-£150 on paint/carpet seems reasonable to me.
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Caporegime
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The landlord may offer to do it for you.
First step would be speak with the agent and landlord and tell them you really like the property but not the decor and take it from there.
As for not spending a penny on it. It really depends on what for. Paint is cheap even decent stuff from Johnstone's. It's not even that time consuming either. I've done a room in a day or two max depending on what was needing done.
Changing the carpets will be a lot more expensive and again it's something I would approach the landlord about and see what they say they may offer to do it if it's really old and outdated.
I normally have to change all the carpets and paint the walls in-between tenants as standard. However I'd do so first before marketing it. It will get me more money for it through rent.
So I'm surprised they haven't done it and may not be that helpful but it should definitely be something you ask directly about.
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This is also my thinking, life is grim enough without having to live somewhere you hate coming home to for the sake of a lick of paint and a few carpets.
Deleted User 298457
Deleted User 298457
I don't think anyone is disagreeing with you on this point. I even think people could meet you halfway on paint. Carpets are where it gets silly. The landlord will have their quality standards which may far out weigh yours. A carpet isn't cheap and should outlast your tenancy. The point is that you shouldn't really be paying anything for a rental property; i.e. have a discussion with the landlord first.
I'd be very upset if someone changed my high quality (but not to your taste) carpets with some cheap foam backed tat and a low quality paint job. It is just common courtesy.
How your spend your money is your own problem, but doing up someone else's house will always make people double take.
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It's just a bit odd that's all, if I were the landlord I'd want it to be decorated as neutral or inoffensive as possible to make finding a new tenant easy and keep it earning without long periods sat on the market.
Especially when it's decorated like an old person's house, it's not like there is a raft of old folk queuing up to rent a three bed semi who will appreciate how it currently looks!
My answer to this question would be to agree, subject to colour choices. Neutrals only, preferable magnolia or white only to keep maintenance easy for me.
Any other colours i would refuse.
As others have said, speak to the landlord, there is no fixed rule about this. If you agree to sign a long tenancy with no break clauses then they might be more flexible as to your preferences. They could happily write your changes off as needing refreshing anyway before the tenancy renews.
Any other colours i would refuse.
As others have said, speak to the landlord, there is no fixed rule about this. If you agree to sign a long tenancy with no break clauses then they might be more flexible as to your preferences. They could happily write your changes off as needing refreshing anyway before the tenancy renews.
You are expected to leave the house in the state you found it. Anything else should be by permission. What I suggest you do is raise your concern with the letting agent or the landlord and ask that the redecoration be done before you move in. That way they get to put the redecoration as an expense.
Virtually every item you buy goes towards "funding someone else's lifestyle"
No need to be a pedant.
No need to be a drama queen.
I'm not, but that sort of thinking leads to perpetual renting. Couple of hundred here and there and before you know it you've wasted thousands and are still stuck renting.
We've recently splashed a bit of paint around the living room and plan on doing a few more rooms in our rented house. For £20 and a day of my time it's made the place feel much nicer.
The landlord had the carpets done a couple of weeks ago as the old ones had been here since the house was built and were bargain basement poo brown colour, the new ones are nothing high end just spray glued budget stuff but still makes the place look much nicer.
Things like carpets/kitchen units or anything like that I'd leave to the landlord but a bit of paint and general tidying up makes sense just to live in a nicer place.
The landlord had the carpets done a couple of weeks ago as the old ones had been here since the house was built and were bargain basement poo brown colour, the new ones are nothing high end just spray glued budget stuff but still makes the place look much nicer.
Things like carpets/kitchen units or anything like that I'd leave to the landlord but a bit of paint and general tidying up makes sense just to live in a nicer place.
When we rented out house out, we had an agreement with out tenants saying they were free to decorate the house to their preference seeing as it is them that will be living in it. only stipulation being they told us first what colour paint they would be using. We also offered to use some of their rent to put towards a gardener once a month to sort out the front and rear gardens but they were happy to do the maintenance themselves.
When the kitchen floor needed replacing we paid for that to be done but asked the tenants to choose the colour of the vinyl.
Granted after being rented out now for 6 years, things need replacing (wallpaper damaged/peeling in places etc) but as we are planning to sell next year to put towards our forever home we will wait for the tenants to leave before we re-decorate. I'd never ask them to do it for us as its not their responsibility.
When the kitchen floor needed replacing we paid for that to be done but asked the tenants to choose the colour of the vinyl.
Granted after being rented out now for 6 years, things need replacing (wallpaper damaged/peeling in places etc) but as we are planning to sell next year to put towards our forever home we will wait for the tenants to leave before we re-decorate. I'd never ask them to do it for us as its not their responsibility.
One of my old tenants decorated and put a couple new carpets in. He planned to be there for a while so wanted something that he liked. I'd rather have a happy tenant that is going to stay than argue about a bit of paint. I was gutted when he split up with his partner and they ended up moving out.
Christ. Heaven forbid a lick of paint!
When I first rented we did a fair bit to the house and used to keep it nice and tidy, we moved in the end to a bigger house and the Landlord was great, even offered to pay for any materials we needed if we agreed to do the work.
Nothing wrong with decorating your home if you plan to be there long term and can accept the cost. Just chat with the landlord and agent and get anything agreed in writing. We've been in our place a very long time and persuaded the landlords to get rid of the naff table and chairs (to which we bought replacements) and a horrible stuffy sideboard too which we reached with a nice shelving unit that will probably stay. Some people clearly have funny ideas about renting here (or presumably have never done it for a longer period of time...
It's their home though.
If they're that sentimental about it then they shouldn't be renting it out. It's not their home anymore. Have-a-go landlords need to realise this.
Deleted User 298457
Deleted User 298457
You've missed the point. I said ask permission. Folk in here were suggesting not to. The fact it may have sentimental value is even more of a reason to not do it without asking.