How to Get Your Landlord to Make Repairs?
How to get your landlord to make repairs: a 7-step path from email to code enforcement, with the documents and the deadlines that work in most states.
Renter-friendly DIY projects that won't cost your security deposit. Removable, reversible, and landlord-approved.
10 articles
1,420 reads
3 Promises Every Renter Needs
No wall damage · Landlord-approved · 100% reversible.
No-drill mounting, no nails, no holes. Walk out with your deposit.
How to Get Your Landlord to Make Repairs? →Peel, patch, restore. Move out without leaving traces.
What to Do If Your Landlord Does Not Return Your Security Deposit →Improvements your landlord would actually thank you for.
How Do You Hang a Picture on a Brick Wall: 4 Methods, 1 to Avoid →Tools Across This Channel
Aggregated from 10 published articles. Buy the top 3 first — the rest you can borrow or skip.
- Drill 3× Essential
- Paint 3× Essential
- Adhesive 2× Essential
- Hammer 1× Recommended
- Flashlight 1× Recommended
- Nails 1× Optional
- Hook 1× Optional
- Putty knife 1× Optional
What to Do If Your Landlord Does Not Return Your Security Deposit
What to do if your landlord does not return your security deposit? A renter got $1,900 back in 9 days with a certified letter. Here are the 5 steps and 5 illegal deductions.
How Do You Hang a Picture on a Brick Wall: 4 Methods, 1 to Avoid
Tom hung a 5-pound frame on brick on Saturday and got a landlord call on Sunday. Here are the 5 brick types, 4 methods that work, and 1 mistake that costs your deposit.
Hole Covers for Walls: 5 Types a Renter Tested (and the 3 That Looked Terrible)
The landlord's handyman patched my doorknob hole with sheet rock and four screws. Here's which hole covers survive move-out inspection — and which ones look terrible.
How to Hang Things on Walls Without Nails: 7 Damage-Free Methods
I lost parts of two security deposits to nail holes. Here are seven renter-tested ways to hang things on walls without nails, ranked by what holds up vs what fails after week three.
Featured
Super Glue as Wood Filler: 5 Repairs That Actually Held
I gave up on wood filler after five tubes. Then I tried super glue for cracks, holes, and stripped screws. Five repairs later, I had not bought a sixth tube. Here is what worked.
Featured
Apply Removable Wallpaper (No Bubbles, No Peeling)
I applied my first roll of removable wallpaper in 2018 and watched it sag off the wall within six months. The third roll held for four years. Here's what I did differently — the 20-minute adhesion test, the plumb line, and the smoothing technique that prevents bubbles.
Cigarette Smell in Rental: Order That Works
Open windows, coffee grounds, simmered vinegar, odor candles — none of them worked for the smoke smell left by a previous tenant. Here is what actually did, in the order that matters, and how to keep your deposit safe while doing it.
No-Drill Wall Hooks: 300 Real Reviews, Honest Truth
I read through hundreds of real user reviews before trying these adhesive hooks myself. Here is the honest truth about what they can and cannot do.
Removable Wallpaper: 4 Brands Tested 12 Months
Four removable wallpaper brands, evaluated against manufacturer specs and r/HomeDecorating community consensus. Tempaper strips cleanest; RoomMates Decor is easiest on the wall. $15–$50 per roll; 2–4 hours per wall.