Renting out a property isn’t quite as simple as it used to be. Nowadays, renters have much more specific tastes when it comes to different materials and features in a potential property. From new types of flooring to outdoor additions and safety features, renters in 2020 have a new set of expectations in mind when browsing the market.
In case you’re the owner of a rental property and are looking to freshen things up, here are some features that renters have really been gravitating towards lately.
1. Low-Maintenance Luxury Flooring
Luxury floors are great, but they often require a pretty high level of maintenance to keep them in tip-top shape. Real, 100% hardwood floors need to be re-finished, sanded, and re-stained on a regular basis, for instance.
Luxury vinyl flooring, on the other hand, looks just like wood on the surface but is much more durable and requires less maintenance. The options for wood plank designs on your vinyl floors are nearly endless, and they stand up much better to spills and water damage.
2. Outdoor Lounge Areas
If you can find a way to incorporate an outdoor lounge area like a pergola, you’re guaranteed to drum up more interest among renters. Patios and pergola design ideas with roofing are super popular with the averager renter right now.
Especially as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to drag on, renters love the idea of having another area to spend time in and break the monotony of relaxing inside all the time.
3. Safety Features
Safety features have rapidly grown in popularity over the past decade as more and more elderly people move away from nursing homes and into residential homes by themselves or with family. For the single, elderly renter, safety features like handrails, non-slip flooring, walk-in showers, curved countertop edges, and no-touch faucets can go a long way towards preventing injuries. These are called aging-in-place features and they are also attractive to younger renters who plan on having elderly visitors over or who place a premium on personal safety.
4. Heated Floors
The technology required to install heated floors is basic and affordable. Radiant floor heating is very appealing to renters because it eliminates cold spots in rooms and allows them to use the heat less due to its impressive efficiency.
Not only that, but it also eliminates the need for a bulky radiator in your unit, which leaves the renter with more square footage to use as they see fit. This is still seen as an upscale feature despite its cost to install, so you are very wise to install some heated floors in your rental property.
Renters Want These Features in a Property
Tastes and preferences for rental property features have changed over the years. As it stands today, the features we’ve listed here are some of the hottest and most attractive to renters in 2020. From heated floors to luxury vinyl flooring, pergolas, and safety features like handrails, you can’t go wrong with any of these rental property upgrades.
About the Author
Matt Lee is the owner of the Innovative Building Materials blog and a content writer for the building materials industry. He is focused on helping fellow homeowners, contractors, and architects discover materials and methods of construction that save money, improve energy efficiency, and increase property value.