When Renovating Your Rental Is Actually a Good Idea

If you’ve reached a point in your life when buying a house seems like the logical next step, you’ve probably noticed that housing prices have skyrocketed and mortgage rates have jumped significantly from just a few years ago. The end result of these economic trends is that folks need to earn over six figures to be able to even think about buying a house—nearly double what you needed just a few years ago.

If that means you’re stuck renting a place for the foreseeable future, you’re not alone—but if you’d really rather not live in a personality-free white box, you’re also not alone. Plain apartments with old fixtures and generic style can be sad places—which is why you should ignore the conventional wisdom and consider renovating your rental.

Benefits of renovating your rental

This might seem like a bad idea at first: You don’t own the space, so any money or sweat equity you invest is a total loss. Except that it’s not, because you’ll benefit from your efforts in several ways:

• Mental health. Renovating your home offers a sense of control over your environment and the chance to make it serve your needs. Instead of white walls and an inconvenient layout, you can make the place feel like a real home. This can be especially impactful if you’re feeling frustrated by being priced out of home ownership.

• Lifestyle improvements. If your apartment is equipped with old infrastructure like beat-up kitchen appliances, replacing them with newer models will significantly improve your enjoyment of the space. And changing the layout of the space to modernize it—by adding closets to old pre-war bedrooms, for example—can make your time living there much more pleasant.

• Finances. Renovating a property you don’t own doesn’t have to be a total loss. If your proposed changes will improve the property and make it more valuable, your landlord may be willing to pay for materials and possibly even offer a lower rent in exchange for your labor. If you negotiate carefully, you might even come out ahead.

Even if your landlord isn’t willing to give you a break on rent, as rental renovator Imani Keal told the Washington Post recently, people routinely spend thousands of dollars on transient experiences like vacations, so spending similar amounts on renovations that you’ll potentially enjoy for years isn’t such a bad idea.

What to consider before renovating your rental

Of course, you shouldn’t just jump into major renovations in a rental without putting some thought into the project. A few things to consider:

• Approvals. Start by reading your lease agreement carefully, noting specific language about changes and alterations to the apartment. While you’re unlikely to get tossed out of your place over some paint, bigger changes without prior approval can be problematic.

  Contact your landlord about planned renovations—and be prepared to make your case. It’s important to point out the benefits they’ll get from your changes—if you leave the place significantly improved, they’ll likely be able to raise the rent on future tenants, making it a win-win.

• Ownership. If your renovation plan includes things like new appliances or other infrastructure, you’ll need to clarify ownership—will you be leaving these things behind when you leave or taking them with you? If your landlord offers a break in the rent in exchange for your work, they might assume they own anything you add, so it pays to be as clear and explicit as possible—and to have a digital paper trail that lays everything out.

• Custom pieces. If you purchase appliances, furniture, or other decor that is sized for the space or custom-made for it, it might not work in your next place even if you maintain ownership. If you buy a high-end compact dishwasher for the tiny kitchen in your apartment, you might not have much use for it if you move into a place with a larger kitchen. This won’t be a problem if you’re leaving it behind, but if you want to take it with you when you move out, it pays to think ahead.