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Fall Home Improvement
Magazine Special Feature
How to remodel and redecorate when your home isn’t
your own
By Jim Youngquist
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[October 07, 2015]
LINCOLN - When you own your home
(including buying it with the help of a financial institution),
there are few limitations to remodeling and redecorating: 1) Don’t
destroy the place, and 2) Don’t spend so much money that you can’t
afford your payments. Outside those two limitations, you are
remarkably free to change your home, inside and out. Change colors,
change layout, re-landscape the yard, put in new flooring, texturize
the walls… the options are limitless because you have the ownership
and the authority to make any changes you please. The operating
guidelines are simple: Finish what you start and always seek to
maintain or improve the value of your home.
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 But what are your options if your home belongs to someone else?
This includes such arrangements as renting an apartment, renting a
house, renting-to-own, buying a house on contract, and living in a
home that isn’t your own. These home-making arrangements limit your
remodeling and redecorating options because you are not in full
ownership or control of your living space. Someone else owns the
place and that someone else, be it an owner or a manager, maintains
the authority over your home. So how do you get permission to make
the changes that you want to make your home your own?
The place to start is to examine your lease, rental agreement or
contract to see if there are specific permissions or restrictions
laid out in writing. These are legal documents and they bind both
the renter and the landlord to the specifications of the lease. So,
if it is spelled out in the lease that you have specific
redecorating or remodeling rights, then you are almost free to
begin. Even though the lease or contract gives you specific
redecorating or remodeling rights, it is always, always, always a
good idea to put your plans on paper and go meet with your landlord
or manager and discuss what you have in mind. Remember, you always
want your landlord/manager on your side rather than against you.
 Most renters will find that there are usually more options if you
are renting a house rather than renting an apartment. Apartments are
generally created to be homogeneous: all remain the same. They are
designed to be low maintenance and the apartment leases usually
severely or completely restrict your remodeling/redecorating
options. If your apartment agreement forbids even painting, check to
see if you can hang pictures/textiles/rugs on the walls to change
coloring and create décor. Overlay plain flooring with large area
rugs. Choose furniture and nick-nacks / brique-a-braq to fill your
rented apartment-home with personality, color and texture. Just
because you can’t make permanent changes doesn’t mean you can’t make
it your own creation.
Renting a house usually allows for more options in the area of
decorating and remodeling. What most landlords are going to be
interested in is who is paying for these changes and will these
changes restrict his/her ability to rent this place after you move
out. If the ideas are sound and you are willing to spend your own
money or share the cost, often landlords will go along with the
improvements. Some landlords may even encourage certain changes to
interiors and landscape of a rented house, so it is a good idea to
make a written plan and meet with your landlord.
If there are no allowance clauses or if there are restrictions in
your lease/contract that you wish you could get around, it is a good
idea to put a solid explanation of your plan on paper and schedule a
talk with your landlord/manager. And even if you don’t have a
written contract or lease, it is advisable to ask for permission
before proceeding. Explain what you want to do and make a sound case
for the changes, and perhaps you can win over your landlord/manager
and gain permission.
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If you are renting to own, you may still be under restrictions regarding the
changes you can make to the property, even though one day it may be yours. Until
it is yours, it is owned by someone else. A high percentage of rent-to-own and
contract-buys fail before they are completed and the property reverts back to
the original owner. So the owner will often restrict what you can do with the
property until it is paid in full. Refer to your purchase agreement and plan to
talk to the owner before you make changes.
Finally, it is often said that it is easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to
ask for permission, this is the worst idea when you are a renter.
Decorating/remodeling without permission will often get you booted out of your
rented apartment or house, and even if you get to keep your rented home, you may
have made an enemy of your landlord/manager and forgiveness always comes at a
price. So, as a renter it is best to operate under the Biblical principle of
asking, seeking and knocking, rather than pursuing your dreams without
permission.
In conclusion, although there are limitations to your remodeling/redecorating
options when you don’t own your home, there are often things you can do to make
it your own home. Non-permanent changes to the premises are always an option
when you overlay floors with area rugs and decorate with furniture and
nick-knacks. Leases and rental agreements often spell out what you may already
have permission to do, and it is always a good idea to get the
landlord/manager/owner on your side before you begin.
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