State Specific Question About: RHODE ISLAND (RI)

Just drove by our rented 2 family and was somewhat shocked to see this charming old 2 family's front side covered with Halloween stuff. For example, its got 6 fake tomb stones, 3 blown up ghosts and witches spry can cobwebs covering its beautiful shrubs etc. etc. > but neither tenant ever asked my permission.

You always know where the renters live - the entire place glowing loud!

I feel for you. Our SFHs are all charming older homes in nice neighborhoods. I've had tenants that did nothing--which is fine because we maintain the lawn and gardens so they look good--and I've had some that put up garish stuff I didn't care for at all e.g., like the tenant that put a University of Kentucky gnome in the garden and hung U of K flags on the front porch. That the gnome (and flags) survived unmolested in a neighborhood of WVU supporters speaks to the forbearance of the neighbors, LOL. I truly expected that poor blue gnome was gonna get disappeared one night.

You can't legislate taste...or what sports teams your tenants support. It's just a cross you'll have to bear. And as Nicole said...the decorations will only be up a month or so and then the blow up Grinch (and probably Santa, the reindeer, the gingerbread house, toy soldier, etc.) will be put in place. Look for possible explosions of hearts and red and pink in February, green leprechauns and four leaf clovers in March, and pastels and eggs and bunny rabbits around Easter.

Maybe you'll be lucky and these people are only into Halloween and not every holiday on the calendar.

If your house was in a neighborhood covered by HOA rules and they prohibited this kind of stuff, THEN you might be able to do something. But otherwise...no. I think you will just have to grin (or grimace) and bear it.

One of the first things I learned here was the difference between the lease rules and tenant taste. Bad taste doesn't violate your lease and if you tell them to remove all that stuff you may have an empty rental soon and be moaning that you are losing money. Everyone understands Halloween and trick or treat and kids of all ages. Please let this go as it is no reflection on you and the kids in the neighborhood love it. That stuff is expensive so you must have wealthy tenants.

I believe I would go and talk to the tenants. Explain to them they may decorate but do not damage the property. For example, my tenants used a staple gun and stapled stuff to the house. And of course they only used 5 thousand staples. You paint a house to make it look good and to protect it from the weather. But with that many holes in the paint ????

I agree with the others, seems harmless to me, and it shows your tenants are investing in living in your home, a good sign for long term retention.

Rental is across from a huge church here and we are

under constant criticism if things are not kept quiet and

neat. I tell renters when they move in Halloween is one

Are you guys serious - what a bunch of grinches.

We have a Halloween house with a cemetary, skulls on the fence (I'm considering leaving them year round) spiders, hanging skeletons and lights. And a wicked old witch who likes to boil little children in a stew kettle!

I also decorate the office.

Decorations go up on the 15th and come down on the 1st. I have the same rule at my apts. We decorate the common areas at Christmas and 4th of July, tenants can decorate their spaces.

If you don't have a statement in your lease about attaching items to the dwelling with staples, nails, etc..., do an addendum, now, before the December decorating blitz. (You DO have a clause in your lease that you can send addendums with thirty days notice, don't you?)

Micromanaging.

I don't care what sort of decorations they put up. Yes, it's tacky. No, I don' like it.

When LTD says she puts shulls on the fence posts, why do I believe they are REAL skulls...with names...

My lease is clear: nothing may be attached to the building in any manner.

I think I'll add something about removing after the holiday.

Had a guy hang Christmas lights with neat tidy little cups hooks across the entire front of the house...each screwed into the bottom of the gutter!

Tacky? yes. But normal for my clientele.

Now if they hang a Purdue flag, well, that's just showing their good taste and admiration of excellence!

Me? I HATE Halloween - the celebration of evil & murder. Socially expected to scare little kids until they have nightmares.

I used to turn off the porch light but people still rang my doorbell. Sooo...if they want to come to me, they can hear what *I* have to say! We play a great game on my (wide) front porch: for each of the 10 commandments their GROUP can name, they EACH get another piece of candy. And we give out the GOOD STUFF!! Snickers, KitKat, Three Musketeers, Almond Joy...

I also give them a whole bag of fun pamphlets with jokes, riddles, brain teasers, optical allusions, million dollar bills, 10 commandment coins, smashed pennies...each includes a clear Gospel message about Jesus' blood shed to pay for our sins. Kids run back to their parents yelling "Look what I got!".

I have a bag of fun ready for the parents too.

We now have car loads of kids who come to MY house just to play the game. Some actually study up to get more candy!!

I'll try to remember to take and post pictures this Christmas:

A MH worth about $5k a few blocks from my house decorates their dirt (no grass) yard every Christmas. They probably spend over $1k on inflatable stuff alone. I can only imagine the electric bill. One car on blocks and a trailer with only one wheel in the front yard. They decorate them both.

We have another guy on the other side of the county who decorated his yard with used toilets. With flowers growing out of the bowls.

I used to live in a neighborhood of townhomes that all had courtyards, and everyone went out of their way to decorate for Halloween.Some were CRAZY scary, some were just fun or funny. Love Halloween.

My kids' generation (late 30's - 40's) are BIG on Halloween. And their kids too.

Decorate away, we don't care as long as you don't mess up the structure as stated before. This even applies for screwing flag holders to the house for the American flag.