Landlords: When should you decorate?
Redecorating can be hard at the best of times, especially when being a landlord you don’t know whether to redecorate midway through a tenancy or wait for the tenants to move out. The question is what if you have long-term tenants and the redecorating is long overdue?
So should you redecorate while you have tenants?
As the property owner, it is in your best interest to keep your tenants happy and content with the property. Landlords are also required by law to keep the property in a good state of repair and liveable condition but with this said, it’s your property and as for every landlord you want to keep the property in a great condition maybe for the next tenants or maybe one day you want to sell on.
Should you let your tenants redecorate?
So the question gets asked by your tenant. When you have long-term tenants it can go a long way by the tenants decorating and making them feel at home. When the tenant is able to decorate to their own tastes, they are likely to feel more invested in the property as a long-term housing solution.
If you want to allow the tenant to decorate themselves why not put in some signed boundaries, for example you will allow for a paint freshen up and they put up shelves and pictures just as long as when they move out they fill in the holes.
Do your tenants have to let you decorate?
No, your tenants don’t have to let you. Your tenant’s obligation is to allow you to carry out repairs and maintenance, and decoration doesn’t generally fall into that category.