Setting Decorating Rules for Your Rental Properties
Posted on Jun 28, 2017 5:00am PDT
Letting your tenants make their rental units feel like home can be a great
way to help ensure that your best tenants stick around. However, you have
to balance this freedom to decorate with your need to preserve your properties
in a way that lets you turn them around quickly when it is time to re-rent
them. To do so, you need a decorating policy that is written into your
lease. Setting decorating rules can be challenging, but an experienced
property management company can help you develop guidelines that will protect your properties while
giving tenants the flexibility they want. As you consider your decorating
policy, these tips will help.
Be Specific
Don’t assume that your tenants will know what they can and can’t
do in your rental unit. Although it may seem obvious that renters can’t
change appliance appliances or knock down a wall, if it is doesn’t
specify it in your lease, your tenants may take it as tacit approval.
Usually language that forbids making permanent changes can cover a wide
range of decorating issues. Your property management company will help
you get the wording correct so that you have legal recourses if your tenants
violate these terms.
Know Your Limits
Some landlords allow tenants to make changes to the property that are easily
reversible, as long as they restore the unit to its previous condition
before moving. For instance, you may choose to allow your tenants to paint
as long as they repaint the walls in the original color before they leave.
If they fail to do so, you can hire a painter using their security deposit
to restore the space. Other landlords don’t want to deal with the
hassle of potentially having to take on these tasks. Consider which approach
is best for you.
Encourage Questions
Encourage tenants to ask questions if they are considering doing some decorating
that they aren’t sure is approved. Your property manager can field
these queries for you.
Let MRS Property Management help you create a lease that attracts good
tenants while protecting your rights. Get the answers to all of your questions
about our residential property management services near Beverly, MA by
calling (978) 927-3690.