Before you start nailing your mounted nativity to the lounge wall or attempting to force an 8ft pine tree through a tiny front door just remember that many landlords don’t take kindly to the sort of damage that decorations can cause, even if there is festive intent.

Christmas is just around the corner and, whether you’re renting or not, that means that most of us want to start putting up decorations. From a tall and fragrant fir tree to twinkling lights, hanging stars and paper chains, these are all the little details that make this such a magical time of year. However, before you start nailing your mounted nativity to the lounge wall or attempting to force an 8ft pine tree through a tiny front door just remember that many landlords don’t take kindly to the sort of damage that decorations can cause, even if there is festive intent.

First of all, check your tenancy agreement. You may find that the tenancy agreement states you can’t hang anything on the walls at all, not even if it’s affixed without actually nailing things into the plaster. It may be that your property has picture rails and you’re only allowed to display/hang items use that feature of the room. Most tenancy agreements will have some degree of restriction on what you can do to the walls of the property so before you start painting them in festive shades of green and red make sure you know where you stand. Otherwise the cost of returning the property to its initial state at the end of the tenancy is going to lie squarely with you. If you want to ask permission from the landlord to put up your favourite Christmassy pictures or rearrange the furniture then go for it but remember that they can very easily say no. More than one landlord has been known to have Scrooge-like tendencies.

If you really want to make sure you’re surrounded by festive cheer this year then here are a few suggestions for decorations that won’t dent your damage deposit:

1. A small tree. Size doesn’t mean anything when it comes to Christmas trees but if you damage the paintwork, the floorboards, the carpet and the electrics getting it into the flat and going overboard with the lights then it will certainly impact on your ability to get your damage deposit back. Stick to a more modest version that will at least fit through the door without forcing.

2. Paper decorations. From paper snowflakes (which are great to create with kids from white paper and scissors), to paper chains that you can glue together, these kinds of decorations won’t stain, melt or discolour your walls. Just be careful how you attach them at the ends – the best way is around the end of curtain rails or on to a piece of high furniture that you own.

3. Good quality lights. The very last thing you want to do just before Christmas is burn down the property because you have been careless with the fairy lights. Don’t leave lights on when you go out or when you go to sleep and don’t overload plug sockets and risk an electrical fire.

There are plenty of ways to make sure that you have a very festive and merry Christmas this year without paying for it when the time comes to move out. And if you can’t put up that many decorations in your property then invest in a festive jumper and a Christmas hat and carry the decorative festive spirit with you at all times instead.

If you rented out a house or an apartment with pre-installed blinds, it’s a reduced cost on your end. However, if your window has a unique size, your pre-installed blinds might not be the perfect fit for your room.

When your blinds are too massive or small for your home, it can make the room smaller and awkward. Ideally, you should have custom-fit blinds like the Perfect Fit Blinds, as they’ll be able to fit perfectly to your unique window sizes, providing you with everything that you need.

Do you remember how many times you’ve walked through your home, looked out the window and seen your neighbour doing something that should be kept private? It can be an awkward and uncomfortable scenario, especially if the scene calls for it. When you frequently experience this, it’s time to buy new blinds.

To help eliminate uncomfortable moments in your home, you should go for top-down/bottom-up blinds. These help to provide your family with natural light without extending your view.

Top-down/bottom-up shades use a reverse mechanism that brings down the shades from top to bottom rather than the usual bottom to top. In this way, you’ll be able to let natural light come into the room from above, leaving the bottom part secured and safe from your eyesight.

Turning the page over; how many times has your neighbour seen you up to something that you’d have preferred to keep secret? If you frequently spot your neighbours looking into your home, you should consider changing your blinds. Not only does it save you from embarrassing moments, but it also helps you to protect your home and family from prying eyes.

The term “first thing in the morning” usually means by the time you’ve arrived at work. However, it can be quite different with kids around.

When the sun rises and shines into your kid’s rooms, even if it’s way before their wake-up time, they could easily run straight into your rooms and wake you up; they want breakfast and conversation. While that can be fun, it can also be frustrating, especially if it’s at the crack of dawn.

To help your children to stay asleep for longer hours, you should consider getting your kids blackout blinds so that no light can get through their windows until you want it to. This should keep your kids asleep for as long as possible.

Paying rent can be expensive, especially when you have to spend a lot on other things in your homes such as energy, water and your internet bill, as well as your weekly groceries. You may not notice it, but your blinds contribute to how you spend your energy at home.

During the summer season, the afternoons get extra hot, and you need to boost your AC to its maximum capacity to feel comfortable and relaxed. However, it can’t trap the temperature with the wrong blinds. This will make your ACs work extra hard just to cool you down, elevating your electricity bills.

You could go for high-quality blinds that have excellent insulating properties, as these help to maintain either a cool or warm temperature inside the room, depending on which season it is.

One of the most obvious reasons why you might want to change your blinds is because they’re broken. It could be that your pre-installed blinds have been sitting on the window for decades, or that your pet has broken them by pushing their head between the slats of the blinds to see what’s happening outside, or that your children are playing with the control cord causing the mechanism to stick.

If you’ve just moved in and the pre-installed blinds are out of style or your preference, you should change them.

Changing your blinds into something better-looking and updated will allow your room a fresher feel, making your stay at the place a lot homier.

If your current blinds don’t fit your needs anymore, you should consider changing them.

You can update your blinds if you want a blackout experience, proper insulation, increased security or even just for style preference. Just make sure that when choosing your new blinds, you get the perfect fit to give a great look to your window.

There are many factors as to why a tenant would want to change their blinds, but before purchasing a new one, you should check with your lease contract to see if it’s allowed or whether there’s a particular process to follow for repair or replacement. If there is, contact your landlord immediately to get the job done quickly.

Above all, make sure that you purchase the perfect fit, style and purpose according to your preference; good blinds will last you for years after replacement, so make sure that you really like them.