Q. I have just done an inspection at my rented property and I found that the daughter is planning on painting the walls of her room dark mauve! This will be a nightmare to paint over when they leave – can I stop her doing this? The tenancy agreement forbids redecorating save in the existing colours and materials.

A. You can’t actually stop her doing this  (short of getting a court injunction which I doubt a judge would grant for such a thing). However, you can point out to her and her parents that this is a breach of the tenancy agreement and that it will make them responsible for the cost of re-decoration at the end of the tenancy.  

Although note that some agents take the view that a property will need re-decorating after a period of time anyway and will not make deposit deductions for this as it is ‘fair wear and tear’.  So, if you use agents, ask them to make sure to charge for an extra expense incurred in covering up the mauve.  

Q. I have a great applicant to rent my property, but she tells me that she runs an internet business and wants approval to do that from home if she takes on the tenancy. Apparently, it won’t impact on the property in any way and she won’t have any customers coming to the house. Shall I agree or should I forbid this?