Could your rental property do with an ol’ fashioned facelift?

We have just what you need.

Here’s our top 10 list of renovations that raise rent, speed leasing, and reduce maintenance:

10 High-Impact Rental Renovations (Ranked)

1. Fresh Interior Paint (Neutral Palette)

From the windows to the walls… specifically paint.

Eggshell or satin is best for rentals. They balance cleanability with flaw-hiding, while semi-gloss on trims and doors stands up to frequent cleaning and frames the walls crisply.

It’s a good idea to keep the palette neutral so the unit photographs brighter and appeal to more prospects. A fresh, neutral wall color that creates a calm backdrop for buyers and for listing photos works well.

But before you roll the fresh coat, do the prep that saves you headaches later.

Patch and sand nicks, caulk trim gaps for sharper paint lines, then stick with one wall color and one trim color across the unit.

Good prep lets you touch up between tenancies instead of repainting entire rooms, improves listing photos, and makes the entire job look professionally done. Nobody enjoys living in a DIY disaster.

2. Replace Carpet with LVP/Hybrid in Living Areas

Onto the next high-wear area, the floors.

A great material for rentals is vinyl plank, particularly in high-traffic, spill-prone zones such as living, dining, halls, and kitchens. Why? This material keeps carpet optional in bedrooms for warmth and sound.

Vinyl planking also handles scratches, dents, stains, and water exposure better than most budget floors, so it stands up to daily wear and pet mishaps while keeping maintenance low.

But before you lay a single plank, plan the underlayment to match the subfloor and building type.

Over wood subfloors in apartments or other upstairs rooms, use a sound-reducing underlayment to cut footstep and airborne noise. We’d recommend you follow the luxury vinyl plank manufacturer’s instructions for the exact underlayment type and subfloor panels to use.

Over concrete slabs or basements, control moisture first. Resilient flooring needs a compliant moisture condition or a specified vapor barrier system. Otherwise, you risk cupping, seam issues, or adhesive failure.

Done this way, your rental’s floors will look good in listing photos, shrug off everyday abuse, and keep your maintenance tickets lower than tired carpet that shows every stain after just a single tenancy.

Read more: 6 renovations to reduce maintenance costs

3. Kitchen Refresh: Benchtops, Faucets, Lighting

Onto the “heart of the home,” the kitchen.

For this room, think “refresh, not gut.” Why? In rentals, a refurbed counter paired with new cabinet and drawer handles, a quality faucet, and bright task lighting is usually sufficient. That’s because the kitchen is a high-wear area, and a complete remodel can easily rack up tens of thousands of dollars.

For benchtops, pick mid-range materials that hide wear and clean easily. Solid-surface counters, such as quartz, can be resurfaced to remove scratches. Modern high-pressure laminates offer strong visuals at a low cost, but with the trade-offs of visible seams and lower heat tolerance.

Upgrade fixtures with a single-handle pull-down faucet that ideally features ceramic disc valves and the WaterSense label. WaterSense certification means the product meets EPA performance criteria while using at least 20 percent less water than the federal baseline.

Then, finish by adding lighting that actually illuminates the work surface. Nobody likes a dim kitchen. LED under-cabinet strips reduce shadows, improve photos, and save energy compared with legacy xenon or halogen bars.

The goal is a kitchen that photographs bright and “new enough,” lifts perceived rental value, and keeps maintenance simple.

Read more: ways to increase the value of your rental property

4. Bathroom Refresh: Vanity, Mirror, Lighting, Low-Flow Fixtures

The bathroom’s up next.

Keep the focus on clean, bright, and easy-to-maintain. Start by fixing leaks, re-caulking wet joints, and re-grouting where necessary, so moisture cannot seep behind the tile. Moisture control prevents mold, protects finishes, and reduces the need for repairs, saving you money.

You can also swap in a simple vanity with functional storage and an integrated top that wipes clean. Pair it with a large mirror and bright, even LED lighting so the room photographs well and feels “new” at a glance. And add or upgrade a quiet, appropriately sized exhaust fan so steam clears after showers.

Finish with durable, rental-proof touches. Use 100 percent silicone in wet areas, set a recurring bead-inspection on turnovers, and standardize on ceramic-disc cartridges for faucets to reduce drip calls. Keep the palette light and neutral so the space reads larger in listing photos.

The end result should be a bathroom that looks crisp, resists daily wear, and lowers the odds of mid-lease repairs.

5. Whole-Home LED Lighting Plan (Interior and Exterior)

Onto the electrics, specifically lighting.

Here, aim for a warm baseline indoors, task-bright where you work, and responsive lighting at entries. Use warm “living” light in lounges and bedrooms (around 2700–3000 K) so faces and finishes look inviting.

Then, step up to brighter, neutral task lights in kitchens and baths, and put them exactly where people work, such as under-cabinet strips that wash the benchtop evenly.

Pick LED products first for efficiency and longevity. LEDs use about 75 percent less energy and last far longer than incandescent bulbs and halogens. Choose by lumens, not watts, and look for a CRI of at least 80 so colors render naturally. And if you install dimmers, make sure the lamps are dimmable and compatible.

Outside, make entries feel safe and photo-ready. Use motion-sensing or timer-controlled exterior LEDs at doors, paths, and parking so light is there when someone approaches and off when they leave.

Good lighting makes for good listing photos, and that’s never a bad thing.

6. Energy-Smart Comfort: Weather-Sealing and Insulation

Comfort sells, and the best way to increase the comfort of a home is to keep the elements out.

Start with the most cost-effective solutions that increase comfort and reduce HVAC runtime. Seal air leaks with caulk and weatherstripping as a cost-effective first step, often with a payback of about a year, because tighter homes lose less conditioned air and feel less drafty.

If the home uses forced air, do not ignore the ducts. In typical houses, 20 to 30 percent of the air moving through the duct system can leak out, wasting energy and making it hard to balance rooms. Sealing and insulating ducts improves efficiency and comfort, can lower bills, and, in some cases, allow smaller, less costly equipment at replacement time.

Where the HVAC system is compatible, install a certified smart thermostat. Why? ENERGY STAR reports average savings of about 8 percent on heating and cooling costs and roughly 50 dollars per year in the average home with smart thermostats installed.

7. Smart Access: Keypad/Smart Locks and Quality Door Hardware

And security, what’s the best move here?

Smart locks solve two pain points in rentals: rekeys and coordination. With a keypad lock, you issue a unique PIN for each prospect, vendor, and tenant, then delete it at move-out. Most smart locks allow you to create and remove PINs or electronic keys from your phone, which eliminates the need for many paid rekeys and reduces key-copy risk.

But why does it help leasing? Self-guided tours are now routine across large operators. We offer them. We find they significantly speed up showings and response times. A keypad at the door makes those tours simple to run and audit.

Just be sure to choose locks that meet a recognized performance grade. ANSI/BHMA grading sets cycle, strength, and security tests. Grade 1 is the highest, and Grade 2 is a solid standard for rentals. And select models that still feature a keyed override for emergencies and that support per-user PINs, auto-lock, and event logs.

8. Storage Adds: Closet Systems, Pantry Shelving, Bike Hooks

Large renter studies consistently show “more/better storage” ranks near the top of what people want, with walk-in closets and tidy, usable space repeatedly cited by operators and surveys. That tracks with listing performance: clean, organized rooms photograph better and help prospects imagine living there.

When it comes to closets, convert single-hang bays to a simple double-hang plus shelf layout and use adjustable wall standards so you can re-position rods and shelves between tenancies.

For pantries and linen cupboards, add adjustable shelving so tall items and bins actually fit. These low-cost changes expand usable volume, reduce clutter in photos, and avoid the cost and inflexibility of custom builds.

Do the same at entry points and nooks: a short run of hooks, a shoe rack, and one extra shelf often cleans up visual mess. If residents are the cycle type, secure bike storage is definitely worth mentioning.

And why not add shelves and rods you can move? Keep finishes simple and easy to clean, show the before/after capacity in photos, and skip fancy carpentry that eats budget without adding much day-to-day value.

Read more: what great tenants look for in a potential home

9. Curb Appeal Tune-Up: Landscaping and Entry Updates

Curb appeal sells the click, the showing, and the rent.

Start with the fastest wins. Prune shrubs below sill height, edge beds and walks, pull weeds, and spread a clean, even layer of mulch so the planting looks neat and tidy in photos. If the façade looks tired, wash it. Then, consider giving the front door and trim a fresh coat of exterior paint in a neutral, photo-friendly sheen.

These small resets reliably lift perceived quality in listing photos and on map views, which is exactly where most renters first meet the property.

Just don’t sleep on the entry. Replace a dull or corroded porch light with a bright LED fixture and, where appropriate, use a motion sensor so the light comes on when someone approaches and turns off after.

10. Laundry: Add In-Unit Where Feasible / Refresh Shared Laundry

And last, but certainly not least, let’s give the laundry area a good spruce up.

If you can reasonably add a compact washer-dryer inside the unit, do it. National renter surveys repeatedly place in-unit laundry at or near the top of must-have features, and industry summaries of the NMHC data show very high preference levels, which support a modest rent premium and faster leasing.

If the in-unit is not practical, upgrade the shared laundry. Make it clean, bright, and easy to pay. Modern cashless systems let residents use cards or apps, removing coin hassles and cutting vandalism risk around coin boxes.

Renos Done… What’s Next?

After you choose the right upgrades and the hard work’s done, the ROI depends on execution. You’ll need fast listing, strong photos, clean showings, solid screening, and a maintenance plan that protects your new finishes.

That is exactly where we, Ziprent, fit.

Our team keeps leasing velocity high with professional photos, distribution across major sites, on-demand tours, and instant screening so your renovated unit is seen, shown, and signed quickly.

If you have just finished or are planning a renovation, bring us in to handle tenant placement and maintenance coordination. You get the rent lift you aimed for, fewer headaches, and a clean paper trail for the next turnover.

Ziprent is a full-service property management company. For a monthly flat fee per property we’ll handle everything from finding you the best tenants through our tenant screening and background checks to managing the day to day communication, repair and maintenance requests, lease renewals, inspections, and more.