Most tenants are quite content to move in, pay their rent, live and be left alone. They understand that while your property may be their home, it is not theirs to do anything with that they please. Most tenants are this way. Others never seem to be content. They always want to change or tailor your property to better “fit” them.
These tenants will want to do “improvements” to your property. They will have renovation requests such as “Can I paint my walls?” or “Could I plant some flowers?” I have even had tenants ask if they can put up wallpaper or install tile.
At first, these requests may sound reasonable to you. You might think that what the tenant wants to do will actually improve your property, that your property will look better when the tenant is done. In other words, what could go wrong? Lots. Let me dissuade you from these thoughts.
Many people devise grand ideas for things they want to do. Especially when something, such as school, a job or a place to live, is new and fresh. Think of the times when you were in school and said to yourself “I’m really going to buckle down and study harder this year!” Did you? Perhaps you did. But, if you are like most people, other things in life got in the way and as that feeling of newness wore off, often so did the ambition. Or that ambition was re-focused on other new things that arose in life.
Tenants are no different.
Over the years, we have said “yes” more that once to these types of tenant questions. And 9 times out of 10, we have regretted it. Why, because the wall painting never really does get completed. Or the paint job is so bad that it has to be redone when the tenant moves out. Or they did not use drop cloths and splatter paint all over the hardwood floors. Other times, the tenant lies (shocking I know!) and paints the walls a totally different color than what was requested and approved. Do you have any idea how many coats of primer and paint it takes to cover black or bright green paint? I’ll save you the hassle by telling you at least four.
I have learned from experience that you simply cannot trust your tenants to do what they say they are going to do when it comes to these matters. Plus the picture of the completed job that you have in your head will not match the one your tenant has in theirs. All of this leads to aggravation and drama for both you and your tenant. Best to just avoid it in the first place by saying no.
Be glad however that at least your tenants are asking and not just doing. Hopefully the reason they are asking is because you have strict clauses in your house rules stating that tenants shall not make any property improvements or alterations without your approval. Hopefully you also made this clear when they moved in. If you do not tell them on the front end, believe me that many will just assume that making such alterations are OK.
The bottom line is that saying yes to these types of questions usually just ends up costing you time, money and aggravation. Most of the projects that tenants attempt to take on have to be redone, and/or constitute a recurring maintenance issue. It is therefore best to make it policy that your property cannot be altered by your tenants. No, you cannot paint your walls.
Kevin Perk is the founder and publisher of Smarterlandlording.com. He is the author of Advice From Experience To New Real Estate Investors. Subscribe to Smarterlandlording here. Contact Kevin here.
