Kirsty Wark
Attracting tenants is a fundamental part of the rental business. Whether you’re renting out a home or an apartment, you will not get far if your space is unappealing to potential tenants. Fortunately, with only a small amount of effort, you can craft a tenant-friendly space that will not only make people want to rent from you but may also increase the amount of money you can get from renters. Try some of these tips to get your rental space working for you!
Freshen Up Painting and Wallpaper
As a landlord, you have the ability to make your interior space more appealing through wall treatments and painting. Tenants are generally not allowed to paint or add wallpaper in their lease agreements, but if you’re looking to draw in new tenants, freshening up your walls is one of the best ways!
When painting, choose light, complementary, and neutral colors to make your rental property feel inviting and encourage the effects of natural light. Using discreet wallpaper in strategic places can also help you create distinct visual “zones” within your property that can appeal to more renters.
Create a Consistent Color Palette
A big factor in drawing in rental traffic is the visual unity of your property. If your property features discordant or jarring colors, it is likely that potential tenants will be distracted from the features of your property. On the other hand, consistent colors can accentuate and highlight architectural features.
Before updating your interior, establish a color palette that matches the theme you want your renters to take away from your property, whether that’s a summery, light theme, a seaside ambience, or an intimate, quiet feeling. Use that color palette to guide everything from paint choices to wallpaper, to appliances and furniture, so that you get a nice blend of unity and effective contrasts.
Improve Lighting and Interior Ambience
Interior lighting can transform a rental property from a restrictive and cloistered space into one that feels more open, navigable, and functional. As a landlord, investing in updated light fixtures that match your theme and color palette can integrate your lighting with the rest of your space, improving flow.
Other lighting accessories can add additional ambience to your rental. You can consider the difference between LED lighting and more warm-toned illumination for different effects, or the role that home candles can play in creating a relaxing, spa-like atmosphere for vacation renters.
Establish a Renter-Friendly Layout
A strong and functional layout is arguably the best way to make renters feel comfortable in your space. Different furniture and decor options can make a huge difference depending on how they are arranged in your rental property. How your layout functions also depends on whether your property is an open or closed-concept space.
In open-concept spaces, furniture layout can be immensely effective in creating different zones and areas of a rental, visually separating living spaces from the kitchen, bedrooms, and other important areas. In closed-concept spaces, layouts need to take into consideration the scale of each individual room and how to preserve space within them to avoid a cramping or claustrophobic effect.
Invest in Storage and Modular Furniture
In small or medium-sized rentals, storage space can be hard to find. As a landlord, you can make your space as functional for tenants as possible by investing in various invisible or integrated storage features. Solutions like floating hooks, shelving, under-the-bed storage, and furniture-integrated storage can give your renters more space to work with and declutter your interior.
Modular furniture is another great investment for rental spaces. With the ability to rearrange furniture pieces seamlessly and even integrate more storage, you and your renters can experiment with different layouts and truly customize your home. For an additional touch, consider handmade, crafted furniture and storage options for more flair.
Add Appliances and Technology
Tenants, like buyers, appreciate homes that come with updated appliances and technology. While these can be expensive, providing functional basic appliances is a must to drive up rental traffic, and offering one or two additional feature appliances can get many more renters in the door.
Beyond appliances, other home technologies can also make your tenants feel more at home and secure. Adequate or sophisticated home security systems, for example, can make vacation renters feel safer and long-term tenants feel secure in making your property their home.
Conclusion
Depending on the area you are renting in, it can be hard to get tenant traffic. Whether you rent short-term or long-term, tickling tenants’ buying bones is the key to making a profit from your rental. By making your rental space tenant-friendly with strategic updates, you can make the hard work of finding tenants easier and focus on what’s important!
