When it comes to decorating your rental property, sometimes it can be difficult to know where to spend your budget, as you may be weary of things being broken or worn with the turnover of tenants.
While we wouldn’t recommend going for a very high-spec finish, or buying top-of-the-range fixtures and fittings – due to the fact that there will usually be more wear and tear in a rented property than a private home – we also wouldn’t go for the cheapest options, as you want to attract a good-quality tenant that will likely demand a certain finish.
Here, we outline just some of our landlord tips for decorating a rental property, to help you make the right decisions when you want to start work on the renovation of your property.
You can’t go wrong with white walls
Even though white walls may get dirty more quickly than darker walls, you can always be sure to find a tin of bright white paint when you need to freshen up the interiors between tenancies.
It’s best to avoid using colour in rented properties as off-the-shelf paints can be discontinued, meaning you’ll have to repaint whole rooms if you can’t find the exact match.
You may also discover that potential tenants don’t like the colours you choose, making it difficult to find a tenant who has the same design tastes as you. It’s advisable to keep the interiors as neutral as possible and avoid anything too personalised.
Beige bathrooms
While an all-white bathroom gives the impression of a bright, clean space, look closely and you’ll perhaps find that’s not the case.
White tiles and grout can look tired and dirty very quickly, which means that it’s sometimes challenging for tenants to keep the bathroom looking fresh and clean throughout the tenancy.
Opt for beige tiles and grouting if your budget allows it, as the lifespan of a non-white bathroom can be greater. It’s very common to reseal around sinks and shower trays at the end of a tenancy, as black mould can form easily in these areas and especially in damper period properties.
Make sure you factor in a small budget to do any resealing before each new tenancy, as it’s cheap and easy to do and shows the tenant that you care about your property, perhaps making them take more care too.
Choose appropriate flooring
As a landlord, you’ve probably already had to deal with damaged carpets and floors in your rental property, as it’s a very common problem that arises in the majority of tenancies.
To minimise the need to buy a new carpet every time something gets spilt or dropped, it’s advisable to go for a short dark beige carpet, as they’re easier to clean; the shorter the pile, the easier it is to get stains out. While a dark blue, or even black carpet would be the most practical in terms of staining, no one wants to see them in a property, so we suggest sticking to neutral beige carpets that will please most tenants.
It’s also a good idea to opt for wood floors in downstairs rooms, or at least in the kitchen and dining room, as this is where most accidents happen. You can now pick up attractive, good quality alternatives to expensive solid wood flooring so that you don’t need to spend a fortune to make sure your rental property is tenant proof.
Get your property camera ready
While this point is more about getting your rental property ready for viewings, rather than how to decorate it, it’s imperative that you recognise the importance of good photos for the online adverts.
If you can’t trust your current tenants to make sure the property is neat and tidy when the professional photographer comes round, it might be worth paying a cleaner to quickly tidy and freshen up the rooms in the morning before the pictures are taken – as long as you get permission from the current tenants.
While this will cost you anywhere from around £30-£50 for a couple of hours – if the property isn’t too dirty, that is – it’s worth spending that extra bit of money to make sure you attract as many potential tenants as possible with great photos.
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