End that renting frustration

Whether you’re a fully-fledged member of Generation Rent, or a family for whom the property ladder is still a step out of reach, renting can be frustrating. It’s your home – except, it’s not really, is it? Someone else is the boss. But there are things you can do to help make living as a rent-paying tenant the best it can possibly be. Here are our top tips...

Keep on good terms with your landlord/ letting agent

When you’re looking for a place to rent, remember you’re vetting the people you’ll be renting with/from, as much as the property itself. Mutual trust and respect, and an ability to communicate, count for a lot.

There might be times when things go wrong and need to be fixed, fast. A broken toilet/tap/boiler, for instance.

The good thing is, where a plumbing disaster due to wear-and-tear or technical issues is concerned (or any similar scenario), your landlord will be picking up the bill.

The sometimes not so good thing is you’ll be relying on a third party to sort things out, so you’ll be doing yourself a favour if you are on good terms with your landlord/letting agent.

Streamline, streamline, streamline

It’s often said that our European cousins are better at the whole renting game than us, being far more likely to rent their “forever home”, while we UK renters might find ourselves moving a lot, and it sucks.

The good thing though? You’ll get so sick of packing and unpacking and losing money to removal vans, you’ll reach a point where you just don’t care for “stuff” any more.

So get strict about the “stuff” you let into your life and the next move will be a lot easier.

Without even really trying, you’ll be living a less consumerist lifestyle - and will have more money to spend on experiences (tick, tick, tick).

Make your bed king

You might not own the bed frame, or the walls around it – but that does not mean you don’t own the right to a decent night’s sleep.

Good sleep is the foundation of so many things (your health, work performance, your zest for life and all the people in it) so prioritise it and do your best to make it happen.

Renting doesn’t have to mean putting up with a rubbish, wafer-thin mattress or not-quite-right bedding.

If your landlord doesn’t feel the same way, save up and invest in the best mattress you can afford (it’ll be some of the best money you’ve ever spent), and a pillow you look forward to sinking your head into every night.

Treat yourself to some fabulous bed linen, you can pick up some great designs at reasonable prices, and you’ll get way more pleasure from it than a TV upgrade.

Find ways to get personal

One of the most frequently-cited phrases among long-term renters: “I just want to be able to hang whatever pictures I want on the walls!”

There’s a general assumption that landlords don’t want tenants to make their house too much of a home (by banging nails into walls, that sort of thing). Have you actually asked your landlord about this though?

Even if nails are out, there are lots of other ways you can personalise a space without permanently affecting it.

Get creative and remember that little touches can make a big difference. Everybody needs some home comforts, even if it’s just a throw from Matalan, or a stack of books on the coffee table.

You may not be putting down roots in this property, but right now, it’s home – don’t underestimate the importance of making it feel that way.