moonie2011

Me again
Having never rented before I am worried as to how homely I can make it.
Can I put up pictures? Add hooks to backs of doors? I would really like to put a decal on the wall. Also want to plumb in a water dispenser fridge, by taking a spur off an existing water pipe in the garage but not sure if I can?

We are obviously willing to return everything to as when we rented and have paid all the bonds and deposit

Thanks in advance

Snap Shot

Um, no. You will have to ask the landlord regarding any alterations. Renting really means borrowing someone else's property for a fee, i.e. the rent.

Most rental accommodation agreements stipulate don't make holes in the walls, not even with picture hooks. We leaned our pictures against the wall on top of our bookcases when we rented. However, we knew we were renting in the short term prior to buying our house.

Ask if you can use, 'Command' hooks. These stick on hooks can be removed without damage. I put some up in our last rental as hooks on the back of a door to put a bathrobe on which the Landlord didn't object to.

Don't really know that you can make a rental cosy, you are so restricted with what you can do. If someone borrowed your car how would you feel if they gave it back to you with a re-spray and fog lights ?

ellenarosemary

Generally the rule is no holes, or pictures or alterations etc etc

Make it homely, I wish you luck, our rental dump was the best 'dump' around, its uninsulated, freezing cold and the gas fire today has packed up (currently waiting for it to be fixed).

Cant wait to move and hopefully eventually buy so that I can do what I want when I want to make it home.

moonie2011

We are renting our house in the UK and have agreed that the tenants can re paint and if we return and don't like it they have to return it to the original colours

This reply really upsets me and I cannot bear to live without some of our stuff all around us, and not on the floor where it can get damaged etc
We will be renting long term and have already expressed an interest to buy if the owners want to sell which the agent says is highly likely.

Oh what to do????

lisamct

I was pretty lucky with my last rental.
My landlord was happy for me to put up pictures, with actual hooks, hang blinds and put up curtain rails (don't know if he'd have been happy with me messing with plumbing mind you) so its not always a total no go.
He was also happy for me to paint as long as I checked with him about colours first.
I know lots of landlords are really strict about this stuff though so its always worth asking or you could be saying goodbye to your bond.

MrsFychan

as advised you can't really do anything that would mean filling and repainting etc so no nails in walls. but if you don't ask you won't know
Landlords do not want to be painting and redecorating between each tenancy, if they ever do.
Also decals can pull the paint off the walls and if that happens they are going to ask you to pay for the redecoration.
Have you moved in yet?

I'd give it a good try out before you start thinking about buying it, if it is this rental you are talking about.

Snap Shot

Sorry

moonie2011

We move on 29th June

We won't buy for quite a while but it was something we mentioned when trying to negotiate a longer rental period

We are doing an initial 6mths then extending to 2 yrs if we are happy

MrsFychan

I think if you like it and take on the 2yr contract they may be more likely to let you do a few things. it does all depend on the landlord though hun x

jmh

Oh bless. Even changing things like curtains and putting a rug down on the floor can really personalise a home. As already suggested command hooks are an option so long as the pictures are not too heavy. I'm having trouble keeping up a heavy clock, but a picture/poster should be fine. Very easy to fit. You might be able to put up wall hangings. Google for some ideas on how to jazz up a rented property. Will you have your own stuff? That will help a lot. Put a few personalised items in your luggage. Sounds silly, but I was glad to have my favourite coffee mug from day 1. I miss my fridge magnets! Ha ha.

Two years is not long in the bigger scheme of things. Renting is always difficult and never like living in your own home, but at least you'll be able to spend the time looking for your ideal home which might help ease the pain!

Having said that, I have a friend who just took on rental on a brand new 5 bed house in Auckland for $700 pw - looks lovely in the pics but the walls are too beige for my liking.

MrsFychan

reading the command hook suggestions reminded me that we were not allowed to use blue tack on the walls to put pictures up. Sod that, we did and came of without leaving a mark unlike the decals

moonie2011

Thanks guys, guess I'll just have to use my charms on the owners, lol

cappuccino

My first rental had picture hooks on various walls already there, so I just used those.

P18PPS

Every house we rented in Auckland (3) we left a legacy of bulletholes! I'm sure that our tenancy agreement stated we could put picture hooks up. Every house we rented everyone of our 20 or so pictures got mounted.... Talk to the agent/landlord as most (in my experience) don't mind and a happy tenant equals longevity and a well looked after house.

Persephone

I think the key is communication, I don't think it's reasonable to expect someone to live in a house and not put pictures on the walls. However I would not want someone to cover a wall in pictures We are currently renting out our house and have allowed the tenant to do certain changes [with the assurance that it will be put back to normal when they leave].

Anyway, our house has so many hooks and nails in from the previous owner that I would assume our tenants will just use the ones that are pre existing. That's what we did when we moved in...

I would not be happy at something like this