Redecorating a rental house: the most important things for landlords to consider when choosing a new kitchen

Having decided that it’s time to renovate my four-bedroom rental House in Multiple Occupation, I drag my husband round kitchen showrooms so that he can help me choose the units, flooring and tiles.

Of course, I don’t really want him to choose anything — I just need him to agree with what I choose.

“I’m thinking carbon colour for base units and dove grey for the wall units,” I tell him in Benchmarx, holding up a sample panel for him to admire. He looks up from his phone and nods. He knows his role.

“Or what about ‘cashmere’, that’s nice too, isn’t it? Or should we keep it white?”

My husband points out, sensibly, that I’m overthinking the colours. “It’s a rental flat — carbon, dove, cashmere, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that it’s simple, easy to keep clean, and robust.”

He’s right, of course. The flat has a high turnover of tenants, none of them ever cleans up, so the aesthetics of the cupboards are less important than how they will look after a few months of use.

This is why I’ve chosen a handleless, easy to wipe down, modern design in a popular but affordable range that should be easy to replace if anything gets badly damaged.

“But should we go matt or gloss?” I ask my husband. On this he’s adamant. “Gloss, it’s easier to keep clean and won’t show fingerprints.” I agree, but I like the matt units. “They look classier.” My husband shakes his head.

“You don’t live there, what’s important is that it will look clean when you show new tenants around. Gloss is better.” So that’s decided. Simple. I am so glad I brought him.

The worktop has to be laminate because granite and quartz are far too expensive for a cheap rental property, wood is a nightmare to maintain — after all, tenants can’t be expected to oil it every few months — and I have ruled out steel because it shows every fingerprint.

Laminate is not only cheap, but also durable. The one I already have in the flat still looks good after years of misuse by the tenants.

We decide on a wood-effect one to offset the stark grey of the units.

Next, flooring. I’m undecided between vinyl tiles and ceramic ones. I had thought vinyl would be cheaper, but in fact a good-quality vinyl tile is about the same price as ceramic and, surprisingly, it can cost just as much to lay because it takes longer to prepare the floor, according to my builder.

However, I like vinyl because it’s warmer underfoot and there’s no grout to get filthy. Plus, if I need to replace it in a few years, it will be easier and cheaper because the floor will already have been prepared.

We look at several samples and decide on a dark grey that’s less likely to show the dirt than lighter floors.

Then, I try to haggle with the manager over the price. I want to buy from Benchmarx because they have been recommended to me by several other landlords and friends as the best for budget kitchens, but annoyingly they only sell direct to the trade, so the price they quote depends on which builder you use. This makes it hard to compare their prices with other suppliers such as B&Q.

Still, I tell the sales assistant that the price seems far too high, and it magically comes down 10 per cent.

As we walk to the car, I tell my husband I am so glad we’ve got the kitchen sorted in a day. “Next weekend we can look at bathrooms.”

He doesn’t look thrilled but it will be worth it — in the end.

Victoria Whitlock lets four properties in south London. To contact Victoria with your ideas or views, tweet @vicwhitlock.