Would you decorate a rental or just put up with it?

aliasojo

Just curious really. We're about to rent a property for the first time and OH and I were discussing one particular room which is pretty horrible tbh....shabby dark pink/red wallpaper which has been badly put up and there are white gaps between the strips.

I casually commented that we could ask if the LL would mind if we stripped the room and either just painted it white or put up white textured wallpaper if the walls were bad, just to brighten it up. It would be a cheap solution to cheer it up whilst we were there and would be a basic neutral change that shouldn't cause the LL any problems.

OH looked really surprised that I would even consider decorating and pointed out that this rental is only a year or so stop gap and that we should just put up with it and save our money, time and energy for our next bought house.

Just wondered what most people do in this kind of situation? Would you ask to decorate or do nothing and live with it being horrible?

property.advert

If you spend £50 (£2500 a year) a week down the pub and are there a couple of hours and yet spend 6 hours each evening in your property and more at weekends, not spending a couple of hundred decorating seems like a poor excuse.

westv

Unless I intended to stay long term (more than 2 years) I wouldn't bother.

aliasojo

property.advert wrote: »

If you spend £50 (£2500 a year) a week down the pub and are there a couple of hours and yet spend 6 hours each evening in your property and more at weekends, not spending a couple of hundred decorating seems like a poor excuse.

We don't go to the pub and certainly don't spend money like that on socialising. Sadly

aliasojo

westv wrote: »

Unless I intended to stay long term (more than 2 years) I wouldn't bother.

That's Oh's pov too. I'm on the fence.

boo2410

I'm with you on this one. It might only be for a year but it is your home. My OH would definitely say no. We're in a short term rent until we buy again and I asked him to put a rail in the cupboard so I could hang my clothes as we had fitted wardrobes in the house we sold - guess what the answer was :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:.

Apricot

I would have to decorate, it needn't be expensive and a year is a long time to live with something that you hate.

fibromrs

Well of course it is entirely up to you but, my advice would be to ask the landlord to do it or at least pay the cost of the materials. We have rented our house for the last 7 years spent a fair bit decorating, putting decent taps, thermostatic bath/shower taps, converted half the garage into a room and even done repairs to the house that should have been done by landlord. This week we received notice that she intended to put the rent up by 25% good job I hadn't started on the kitchen because we cant afford the rent rise.

Liz

Eton_Rifle

Yes, I'm doing it now! I may only be here for a year but it's a whole year in my life that I will never get back and I don't want to spend it wincing.

I don't care that I'm spending my own money 'bettering' someone else's place. My environment impacts my quality of my life and that's far more important.

nikki_angel

make sure you get written permission!

DianneB

I would ask the LL if they would do it first and if they won't I would do it myself (with permission) a year is a long time to hate where you live.