The Upgrades That Make Landlords Quiver

Renters want to make a place their own and fit their style, but it may cost them their security deposit.

“If you decide to paint the walls while you are there, you must return them to their original color or the landlord is within their rights to use the deposit to pay for it themselves,” Trent Zachmann of Renters Warehouse told realtor.com®.

Read more: Which Amenity Is Worth the Most to Renters?

Most landlords treat unapproved modifications and improvements made by renters the same as accidental damages when it comes to withholding the security deposit.

“An owner can withhold all or part of the deposit to correct either type of issue,” Zachmann says.

Landlords recently vented to realtor.com® about some of the upgrades they have most often seen tenants make that have prompted them to withhold security deposits, including:

Painting.

Landlords say it’s by far the most common modification that renters pursue. “To feel at home, a fresh coat of personality-defining color is the icing on the cake,” says Annmarie Bhola, a landlord in New York. “That’s all cool, but know that if you paint the walls hot pink, it will be coming out of the security deposit! That was one of the most memorable colors I’ve had to repaint.”

Hanging pictures.

Landlords say they often have to fill in holes in the drywall after a tenant moves out. “Everyone likes to put up pictures, and fortunately new technologies have brought about alternative, less destructive hanging methods, which is great,” Bhola says. “Nine out of 10 times, I always have to fill in the holes and bust out the spare bucket of paint.”

Mounting a TV.

The same applies for drilling holes in the wall to mount a flat-screen TV. “The screws have to go directly into the center of studs,” says Brian Davis, director of education at SparkRental, a real estate service company. “At best, the renter will have screwed 10 to 20 holes into the wall. At worst, the TV will crash to the floor [because it wasn’t mounted correctly], possibly injure someone, shatter the TV, and take a chunk of wall down with it.” Landlords say they prefer that tenants use a TV stand.

Gardening.

Some tenants may think they are doing the landlord’s a favor by planting a few tulips in the front yard.

“As a landlord, I want the most maintenance-free rental as possible,” Laura Agadoni, a property owner in the Atlanta area and a real estate writer, told realtor.com®. “In some cases, I pay for a landscaping service, but I would not want to keep up a garden.”