We moved into a house last month which has just been done up for rent. New carpet, new paint, bathroom redone - really nice.
One thing that surprised me though - there were bits where there had obviously been picture hooks previously, and all of them had been taken out and carefully plastered over and painted. They were in what looked like standard picture-hook places - over mantlepieces, mid-walls.
So I sent off a message to the landlords - “Can we put some picture hooks up? We’ll pay.” and got a message back - “Yes, but we’d want you to remove them again whenever you finish the lease. How about stick-on ones?”
That’s certainly easier for us. But I thought it was kind of strange. Don’t most people like to hang pictures in their houses? I would have thought picture hooks would be a plus point, not something you’d have to wipe away as a blemish at the end of the tenancy.
You’re assuming that the next tenant will want to hang their pictures/mirrors/etc. in the exact same places you did. But odds are their wall decor will not be exactly the same size, shape or placement as yours. So your hooks/nails may be in the way of the ones I want to put up next, or yours may be exposed in un-decor’ed areas and look out of place.
Most landlords IME repaint and recarpet every time they get a new tenant; charges for damaging carpet and paint are just a way to cover their re-leasing costs, IMHO.
They work REALLY well, aceplace57.
Just make sure that you buy the right hook for the weight of the item, that you properly prepare the place you want to stick it with alcohol, and leave it to adhere for the required 60 minutes (I think it is).