Can You Paint or Renovate a Rental Apartment?

You’ve signed the lease on your first apartment and love almost everything about it. You want to express your personality in your new living space. Can you paint a rental apartment? Can you renovate an apartment? Before you open the can of paint or fasten a set of shelves to the wall, take a close look at the lease you signed or have a chat with your landlord. You need to know what changes you can make without breaking your lease agreement, getting evicted, upsetting your landlord, or jeopardizing your security deposit.

What is a lease agreement?

A lease agreement is an agreement between you and your landlord that outlines the monthly payment and rental conditions. This agreement includes rules and regulations that you must follow, fees or utilities you’re responsible for paying, information about the security deposit, early termination guidelines, and any other agreements the landlord includes. 

This agreement may also contain pictures or descriptions of the property that state any previously noted damage, such as worn carpet or a crack in the vanity mirror. Before signing your agreement, be sure you understand and agree to the terms outlined in the document. It may state whether or not you’re allowed to make renovations, such as painting the walls, while you’re living there. It’s best to check your lease before going forward with anything.

Can you renovate a rented apartment?

After moving into your new apartment, you may get the urge to add some touches of your own. You’d like to enhance the color scheme, add some new decor, change some fixtures, or fasten shelves to the walls. 

Can you renovate an apartment? Depending on what your lease says, here are some apartment renovations you can make that allow you to express your home decor style without upsetting your landlord.

Enhance the Walls With Paint

Adding a bit of color to any room can change the overall look of a space. Color can make a room appear larger or more appealing to the eye. Before taking this leap, discuss your painting plan with your landlord. Your landlord will most often be willing to work with you by allowing you to paint the apartment. If you don’t agree on colors or design, at the very least, the landlord may permit you to showcase your style with the condition that you repaint before moving. If you’re willing to put in the time and effort, then get the brushes and rollers moving. 

Maybe painting isn’t to your liking, but adding some stylish wallpaper would make you happy. Many wallpaper styles are easy to put up and take down, with several options that resemble peel-and-stick stickers. These types don’t leave behind any residue and come in many designs and colors. Even so, asking for permission from your landlord is the respectful approach to take.

Add Decor Items

To make your apartment feel more like you, add some shelving. You can get creative with shelving in many ways. Try different lengths, colors, angles, or sizes. By installing shelves, you can showcase all of your prized possessions and collectibles. Shelving allows you to display all of your memories in plain view. You’ll want to confirm this renovation with your landlord before starting. Your landlord may want to know where you plan to fasten shelves, as well as how many shelves you’re going to hang. When it is time to move, you should apply putty to the nail holes you created when hanging the shelves. For more decoration inspo, check out our top 30 favorite home decorating bloggers.

Upgrade the Kitchen

A simple way to give your kitchen a new facelift is by changing cabinet hardware. Finding new knobs for the drawers and handles for the cupboards can do wonders to make a kitchen come to life. You can easily make this affordable change on your own. Be sure to keep the old hardware so that you can reinstall the pieces before you move out of the apartment. Since this upgrade doesn’t alter the apartment or cause any damage, no matter how minor, permission from your landlord may not be required.

Light Up Your Living Spaces

Light fixtures can sometimes be outdated, gloomy, ugly, and cheap. Changing the light fixtures will require a few small tools, but it can be a way to make your apartment feel more like you. Visit a hardware store or specialty lighting shop to view your options. Be sure to carefully store any existing lighting fixtures so that you can reinstall them upon moving out of your apartment.

Along with light fixtures, you could also change light switch plate covers. You can find new light switch plate covers at your local hardware store or online retailers. If you plan to return the light fixtures and switch plate covers to their original state before moving out of the apartment, these cosmetic changes won’t alter the apartment space, and you probably don’t need permission from your landlord in this case.

Change the Floor Coverings

When you think about flooring, you may think about a daunting task that only professionals can do. If your apartment has ugly flooring, you can find an area rug to cover up the flooring. You may want to consider removable flooring, click-and-lock flooring, or carpet squares you can install without glue. Updating the flooring in this way allows you to return the floor to its original state.

How do you get approval for potential apartment renovations?

Before moving forward with renovating a rental apartment or adding personal touches to one, you may want to seek approval from your landlord. In most cases, landlords are flexible regarding changes that won’t affect the property’s value.  If you can demonstrate that your changes may add value to your rental unit, your landlord is more likely to get on board. Keep in mind the following tips for talking to your landlord about renovations:

1. Be in good standing with your landlord before proposing changes
2. Create a budget and complete your research so that you have a solid case to present
3. Write down everything to protect you in case something goes wrong

Once you move in, you may start to think about ways to improve the space or make it your own. If that’s the case, make a list, do some planning, check your lease agreement, and communicate with your landlord before making any significant alterations.