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Choosing to live in a rental property offers a lot of freedom from repairs and maintenance. Typically, tenants are not responsible for tasks like cutting the grass and fixing plumbing problems. Perhaps that’s why more than 111 million Americans have chosen renting over home ownership, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council.

Renting provides convenience and independence, but there are limits to what you can do in a rental property. While specifics may vary from landlord to landlord, these are some of the general do’s and don’ts of renting a property.

Don’t go paint crazy

Be sure to get permission before taking on any painting projects. Image: CreativeStudio/Getty Images

“Tenants like to say, ‘I’m leaving the place better than I got it,’ and some tenants might think that blood-red accent wall they painted is much better,” says Diana Valin, CPM, owner/broker at The Rental Xperts in San Diego, CA.

However, Valin tells Freshome that this is rarely the case – at least, not from the owner’s perspective – unless the parties collaborated in advance. “The best rule of thumb for tenants wanting to change things up during their time in residence is to ask for permission – and get it in writing.”

However, you can paint your furniture and personal items. In fact, you’d be surprised what you can do with a can of spray paint.

Don’t let your green thumb go wild

Customizing landscaping elements may lead to problems with your landlord. Image: Sebastian Arning/EyeEm/Getty Images

While you may think of vegetable gardens or flower beds as a great use of space outside the property, it might actually cause more issues for your landlord down the road. Kristie Aylett of Ocean Springs, MS reached out to Freshome with a similar situation from her landlord friend. “The renter wanted to be reimbursed – or at least thanked – for building a tree fort in the backyard but didn’t realize the increased liability and insurance costs it presented to the homeowners.”

Valin adds: “We want [renters] to feel they can make the property their home, but if they want to customize anything during their tenancy, communicating what they want to do and getting written authorization to do it ahead of time is the key to staying out of trouble in the end.”

Don’t make major renovations

Consult with your landlord before major changes. Image: Hero Image/Getty Images

Valin says your rental agreement should also stipulate how improvements will be handled at move-out. “The owner that didn’t know you added ceiling fans in all of the bedrooms may be thrilled to find out that you improved his/her property but won’t necessarily want to reimburse you for the installation costs and purchase costs of the fans at move-out,” she warns. If you decide to take your fans with you at move-out, you’ll be responsible for patching/texturizing and re-painting the ceilings.

Cabinet hardware is the most likely avenue of customization and improvement and an easy way to show your creative side in the kitchen and bathroom. However, like anything, be sure to check with your landlord first.

Don’t use a hammer for all of your projects

Consider decorating ideas that won’t damage the walls. Image: chuckcollier/Getty Images

Most landlords will let you hang a few pictures, or curtains on decorative rods. Aside from that, it’s important to carefully consider any decorating idea that involves the use of a hammer. In other words, scratch those thoughts about mounting cabinets in the bathroom.

That’s not to say you can’t decorate in other ways. For example, consider applying stainless steel appliance covers to the dishwasher and refrigerator. These covers come in peel-and-stick or magnetic varieties and can instantly update and transform the space.

Do help to maintain the property

Maintaining the property requires some effort on your part. Image: Westend61/Getty Images

Your landlord is responsible for repairs, but you, as the tenant, are responsible for informing management when there’s something amiss in your unit. Whether it’s a leaky faucet or a broken stove knob, you need to report these problems as soon as possible. If a small problem becomes a large problem and it’s deemed a result of your negligence, you may be responsible for the repairs.

As far as household pests go, your landlord is responsible for pest control; nevertheless, you are accountable for keeping your unit clean so you won’t attract pests.

Do purchase renters insurance

Renter’s insurance protects your valuables. Image: Asbe/Getty Images

Your landlord is ultimately responsible for the property and your unit. However, you are responsible for your personal items, such as your furniture, clothes and electronic equipment. Additionally, if someone is injured in your apartment, you might be liable for medical and legal bills. Renters insurance is a wise investment because it protects you against these unforeseen circumstances over which your landlord has no control – which is why it’s often required by your landlord.

What other do’s and don’ts of renting have you discovered? Please let us know in the comments.

The post What You Should and Should Not Do When Renting appeared first on Freshome.com.

Decorating a rental can feel like a tedious task. On the one hand, you want to be able to create a space that feels like your own, no matter how long you intend to live there. On the other, you don’t want to get so into personalizing the space that you put your security deposit at risk.

With that in mind, we’ve laid out some temporary decorating ideas to help you along the way. Use these to achieve a homey look that can be taken down as soon as your lease is up.

Use area rugs to bring visual interest to the space. Image: Breadmaker/ Shutterstock

Invest in area rugs

Area rugs are great for livening up any living space, but they’re especially useful when it comes to rental situations. Put simply, they pack a big punch of visual interest but are just as easy to roll up and put away the moment your lease is done.

As far as how to pick out a good rug, in this case, aesthetics come first. If your rental is fairly basic when it comes to decor – we’re talking white walls and neutral flooring – you’re going to want to pick a rug that easily draws the eye.

Your next consideration is size. Unfortunately, rugs come in only a few standard sizes that you’ll need to work around. To help, here are some guidelines for you to keep in mind:

If you’re choosing a full room rug, remember to leave room for a border of flooring around all sides. 18 inches is considered the standard border measurement.
If your rug will be grounding a seating area, measure the length and width of the seating area in its current layout and buy the next size up.
If the rug is meant to highlight a piece of furniture like a dining table, make sure it’s big enough to extend beyond the piece with room on all sides. For a dining table, 24 inches is standard. However, it should be less if you’re working with a smaller piece, like a coffee table.
When in doubt, bigger is better. You can always hide excess rug under a piece of furniture, but a too-small rug will stick out like a sore thumb.

Temporary products like removable wallpaper can make a huge difference. Image: Photographee.eu/Shutterstock

Reconsider removable products

While you may be tempted to write off wall decals and the like as products for children, we’re here to urge you to reconsider. These days, removable wallpaper and similar applications are sleeker than ever before and they come in a range of modern patterns and hues.

With removable products, your biggest concern is the quality of the walls themselves. You want to look for smooth walls, without texture or pockmarks. Smoother walls will reduce your chances of getting air pockets under the product during installation and ending up with a bubbly look.

Layer lighting to complete the look of the space. Image: Photographee.eu/Shutterstock

Add your own lighting

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: having the proper lighting in place can totally change a room. Oftentimes, in rental scenarios, you start out with the bare minimum, like harsh overhead lighting that’s flattering to no one. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t round out the space and soften it up by adding lighting of your own.

Remember, dealing with lighting is all about creating layers. There are three different types of lighting that you can use to your advantage:

Ambient: Also known as general lighting, ambient light fills the majority of the room and allows you to move around safely. It usually comes from recessed lighting, track lighting or wall-mounted fixtures.
Accent: Accent lighting is used to highlight a particular focal point, such as a piece of wall art. Picture lights, wall-mounted-fixtures or track lighting are common, and dimmers are often used on these features to provide mood lighting.
Task: As the name suggests, task lights are used to assist you in completing a particular function. This could be anything from desk lamps to pendant lights that hang over a kitchen island.

Mounting ambient lighting to the walls may not be possible in a rental. However, a variety of task lights like floor and table lamps will certainly do the job.

et stylized surfaces round out your design. Image: Image: Photographee.eu/Shutterstock

Stylize your surfaces

Lastly, keep in mind that decor does not need to be hung on the walls in order to play a role in your home. Stylized surfaces like coffee tables, dining tables and shelving units go a long way towards making your rental feel like it allows your personality to shine through.

Effectively stylizing surfaces is all about creating groupings of accessories. They can match, like the place settings on the dining table in the picture above, or they can simply coordinate, like the items on the shelves.

When selecting items to go in your grouping, you want to ensure that they’re different enough to create visual interest while still having a common thread to tie them together.

The post These 4 Temporary Decorating Ideas Will Help You Keep Your Security Deposit Safe appeared first on Freshome.com.