How to redecorate a rental home (and stay on your landlord’s good side)

Tenants often face strict rules on redecorating. Emily Jupp offers some easy answers for ‘decorenters’ wanting a change

With an increasing number of people unable to get even a big toe on the housing ladder, more and more of us are becoming part of generation rent. Renting often gets a bad rap (instability; high rental costs; nightmare landlords) but on the upside, you get the freedom to move home whenever you feel like it, you don’t have to deal with boring things like broken boilers and you get to take a more laissez-faire attitude to red wine stains on the furniture.

However, personalising your space and making it feel homely can be tricky, especially if your landlord has strict rules about decorating. Luckily, there are lots of bloggers coming up with nifty ways to get round the letting agent’s rules. When it comes to “decorenting”, it’s no-holes-barred (apart from those holes in the walls forbidden in the T&Cs).

Peel-off wallpaper is easy to apply and remove when children get bored and want something new (Photo: Spoonflower Wallpaper)

Rachel Southern, who runs the award-winning blog about family and interiors theordinarylovely.com, advises: “Check your rental contract carefully as while wallpapering and drilling holes might be prohibited, often a lick of paint is fine.”

Southern uses temporary stickers and sticky wallpaper to liven up her home, particularly the kids’ rooms. She calls this a “fakeover” because all the materials used can be taken off again, as though they were never there – perfect for renters. Peelable wallpaper is very easy to use, and now comes in very high-end designs (Spoonflower.com has some lovely peel-off paper), you can even get removable chalkboard stickers for that oft-Instagrammed chalkboard wall effect. Simply clean the area before you stick it on and when you’re done, pop air bubbles with a safety pin.

Peelable wallpaper comes in various designs at Spoonflower.com (Photo: Spoonflower Wallpaper)

She recently tried a mix of stickers and sticky wallpaper in her son’s room and when he decided he was bored with the design she took it off in one day – no marks. You don’t have to use the sticky wallpaper on a wall either; you can line a bookcase with it. Southern recommends picking a small area, one wall or a small pillar and painting it. You can paint over it again when you move.

“You can do so much with paint to spruce up a home outside of painting an entire room,” says Southern. “Paint stripes to give the impression of wallpaper, paint a border halfway up a wall to give a two-tone effect, paint a mountain range in a children’s room, or a geometric pattern if you have a taste for abstract art. It’s amazing how you can change the look and feel of a room in half a day armed with a can of paint and a brush.”

Shelving can often be another tricky subject for renters craving more storage but unable to mark the walls with fixed shelves. A ladder shelf, which leans against a wall is a good option, or you could go New York loft style with breeze blocks or stacks of magazines supporting reclaimed scaffold planks.

Simply clean the wall and stick on, then pop any air bubbles with a safety pin (Photo: Spoonflower Wallpaper)

Jeska Hearne, who blogs at lobsterandswan.com, suggests using indoor plants to personalise any interior. “Buy a few different species in interesting pots and planters,” she says, “They are good for your health, add colour and texture and can be taken from room to room and home to home.”

Mirrors, art, posters and wall-hangings offer instant character to a blank wall. You could get a sneaky picture rail (Ikea does a 55cm or 115cm one for £4.95 or £8.95). You only need two holes in your wall to get a whole load of pictures mounted. When it’s time to move on, it’s nothing a dab of Polyfilla won’t fix.

Five temporary features

Washi tape This Japanese tape comes in millions of designs and won’t rip off your paint if stuck on a wall.

Sticky wall hooks So handy for hanging jewellery or accessories and they don’t leave a mark.

Giant wall art Make a statement and transform a room by leaning a piece of art against the wall; no nails required.

Knobs Give your kitchen cupboards new knobs and simply switch them back again when it’s time to move.

Curtains An often overlooked feature in rented flats, but a change of curtain can change your life.

Plants offer a short-term spruce (Photo: Jeska Hearne/lobsterandswan.com)

Renting in numbers

In 2014-2015, 19 per cent of households – equivalent to 4.3 million – were renting privately (English Housing Survey).

Some 59 per cent of 20 to 39-year-olds in England will be privately renting by 2025 (PwC).

In February 2017, the average rent in Britain was £921 a month (Countrywide).

The average cost of new London tenancies signed in April this year was £1,519 per month.

On the average UK property costing £280,000, first-time buyers will need a deposit of at least £14,000 (Which? Mortgage Advisers).

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