Doing More And Less Than Is Assumed
When it comes to decorating a rental unit for Halloween, you may have more options than you realized, but there’s always a limit. Some things that seem fairly straightforward may not be allowed on your property, while others you would never in a million years expect to be allowed are perfectly fine. We can’t cover them all here, but we’ll certainly take a brief look at associated considerations to help you know what’s accepted.
1. On The Inside: Try Not To Damage The Walls
If you’re decorating your apartment’s interior, the sky is the limit—provided you do little to no damage. Shy away from décor that requires you to poke a hole in the wall, or attach substantial adhesives. Granted, you can always repair the damage and clean things up in a way that your landlord will accept sufficiently to return your deposit.
However, are you skilled enough to get the job done right? For example, say you punch a hole in a wall incidentally owing to an emotional situation. Can you buy a wall repair kit from Home Depot, and repair the damage sufficiently that it isn’t noticeable? Well, think about the same thing with Halloween décor.
Say you’ve got some funky skeleton that you hang from the ceiling, but the weight of the decoration pulls down the paint and sheetrock above, revealing a hole about as big around as your head. Can you repair that? No? Well, maybe don’t put that sort of décor in your apartment during Halloween. If you can make the fix, though, go right ahead.
2. Your Neighbors: See If They Might Have Any Issues
On the outside of your apartment, the same proviso goes as regards incidentally damaging the premises, but more problems can develop owing to how the weather might influence décor. So keep that in mind. Provided you know what you’re doing and you have the deck or yard space available, the only real limit on what you can do will be your neighbors.
If your neighbors are already decorating as you intend to, that’s a good sign you won’t have any issues. But if you’ve got a few families adjacent to your unit, and they don’t seem inclined to celebrate Halloween, then if you go all out, they could end up causing you trouble. A good idea is figuring out where they stand on such décor beforehand.
3. Be Strategic: Find Decor-Friendly Apartments From The Start
Another option is asking what local HOAs, covenants, and lease agreements allow in advance. If you know you can decorate lavishly prior to the move, then you don’t have to worry about any of those issues. A great way to determine such information in advance is to use resources like apartment finders from UmoveFree.
4. Exterior Decor: Get Authorization If Thinking About Roof Decor
Most HOAs and lease agreements won’t take into account the realities of roof décor, because few who rent go this route. Depending on your neighborhood you could proceed and ask forgiveness, or ask in advance and assure you’re allowed. Some landlords won’t care, others might try to find a way to evict you—but if no prohibitions exist in the lease, you’ve got moves. Still, it’s best to assure you’re allowed to go on the roof and decorate for Halloween. It’s one thing if you get in trouble after the fact, but it’s quite another if some nosy neighbor gets miffed at your actions, goes to rental authorities, and they come to hassle you in the middle of the job. If you’ve got authorization in advance, the nosy neighbor has no leverage.
5. Local HOAs: You May Not Own, But HOAs May Still Apply
A HomeOwners Association will have certain allowances and restrictions that may apply to your rental unit even if you don’t own it. Say you’re renting a house from someone in a gated community. Well, there will be laws on what sort of things you can put in your yard. Sometimes they may be restrictive, sometimes they’ll allow for some decoration.
A good idea is determining what HOA restrictions are on the unit you’re considering before you actually sign any sort of contract with your landlord. The lease agreement is not the same as the HOA. Granted, the two should be presented before you at the same time, but that won’t always be the case with some landlords, so be advised.
Decorating The Premises To Suit You
Understand what HOA restrictions are, be smart with exterior décor, try to find decor-friendly rental options from the beginning, assure you’re not doing anything that will rub neighbors the wrong way, and when decorating the interior of the property you’re renting, be strategic enough to either cause no damage, or fix what can’t be avoided.
Through such an approach to not just Halloween décor, but any décor, you should be able to make the property you are renting feel properly festive without causing any unwanted drama.