The pros of letting tenants decorate

If you’ve been letting the property for a while, and it’s a long time since it was decorated, then it may be worth considering it if you’ve got a tenant who wants to give it a go. Even better if they have decorating experience, or simply want to put a new coat of paint in one room.

However, be sure to make it clear what they’re allowed to do and not do, preferably in writing. This includes which rooms they can touch and what they’re allowed to do, in terms of painting or wallpapering. You may even want to vet the colours or ideas, just in case they’ve very outlandish.

The cons of letting tenants decorate

Mention the decorating issue to landlords and some will always have horror stories to share. Although it may seem like a tempting offer to have someone else do the hard work for you, do you really want to put your property in their hands?

Horror stories of decorating gone wrong involve garish colours, badly hung wallpaper, bad painting, paint in areas that shouldn’t have been painted and half done jobs that were abandoned.

Realistically, you can never be 100% certain that tenants will do a decorating job properly, so if you’ve got any doubts about their ability or commitment, it’s best to do it yourself, or pay an expert to come in and do it. It’s the only way to avoid unwanted decorating nightmares.

It helps to have this covered in your paperwork and contract, so they know they can’t just whip out a tin of paint and start decorating when they feel like it.

If there’s no major need to decorate just yet, then a good time is always between rentals – as one tenant moves out, and before another arrives.