I Got My Landlord to Pay for Most of My Kitchen Reno—Here’s How

When Imani Keal first toured her two-bedroom apartment, the Washington, D.C.–based DIYer really liked what she saw in the kitchen—for the most part. “It’s really big, it’s open to the dining room, there are two big windows, and it has a dishwasher, a huge upgrade from my old apartment,” says Keal. Sure, there were things she didn’t love about it (the upper cabinets were tiny and the vinyl tile flooring was an eyesore), but she could work with it. Then the mouse droppings started turning up. 

Keal wasn’t instantly caught off-guard. “If you live in an older building, it happens. You deal with it,” she says. It was only when she uncovered a roughly 3-foot-wide opening behind the sink and stove that the alarm bells in her head started going off. Her landlord told her they’d simply patch it up, but as Keal kept digging around back there, she uncovered areas of mold that appeared to be intentionally concealed. “I was like, you cannot patch that,” she shares.

Moving was never a real option for Keal, mostly because she genuinely liked her spacious apartment and felt she’d scored an affordable deal in a city where they’re hard to come by. Not to mention, she couldn’t fathom another renter inheriting the same health hazards that she was facing. So she decided to negotiate with her landlord. And unlike with her last rental, where she made homey cosmetic updates to the kitchen, this time she argued for a full-on remodel—and won. 

In the end, her landlord covered the demolition and repair of the back wall, the demo of the floor, a new stove and dishwasher, and a $2,700 credit toward fresh cabinets and a microwave. Keal provided a Waterworks faucet she scored years ago when she still worked for the brand, a refrigerator, flooring, and lighting. Plus, since she is in the design influencing space, she partnered with Valspar for a dramatic paint moment. Ahead, the renter shares how she fought for what her tiny, temporary space deserved and reminds us that a little back-and-forth with your landlord doesn’t have to be scary. 

Identify Your Advocate

If I have a problem, I tend to go to the person who I think can be the most helpful, not necessarily the person who is the decision maker. So I texted my handyman first. He saw my apartment, and I listed all the issues I was seeing (mold in the sink cabinet, a stove filled with mouse droppings, water that had seeped under the flooring). Once I got him on my team, he did all the legwork of convincing my landlord. 

Don’t Push Every Button at Your Disposal

I knew what was important to me, so I kept striving to get that, but you also have to know when you’re doing too much. If you go into a negotiation thinking, If I don’t get exactly what I want, I’m going to be upset, you’re always going to be upset. I went in knowing that I wanted this wall fixed. There was a legitimate problem. But at the end of the day, I’m not trying to gouge a guy to give me a $10,000 or $20,000 kitchen. I wanted what was fair. 

Reiterate Your Rights 

I was going into this with the fact that I was a damn good tenant. I had never paid rent late. I’m quiet. And I know my rights. Anytime I felt like they weren’t handling things the right way (or in the speediest way), I would look up what the tenant rights are in D.C., and I would use the language from the laws. I was like, Hey, if this doesn’t get fixed in a timely manner, I’m happy to go to housing court about this.

Create a Paper Trail

I like to have proof of everything, and I overcommunicate. I sent text messages to the handyman [of the list of things that needed to be fixed], and I started talking to my property manage shortly after to go through the official process. Some things do need to be spoken about over the phone; however, if you have a call with somebody, immediately follow up with an email summing up what everyone said.

If You Care About Aesthetics, Do the Research Early

I figured that if we’re already going to take all of the cabinets out and I have to get a new stove, I might as well make the kitchen better. I went on IKEA’s website and started playing with the kitchen planning tool almost immediately. I put in all the measurements, and it turns out that I could fit two 40-inch boxes, a 30-inch box, and two 20-inch boxes for the upper cabinets. For the lowers, I decided to make them all drawers—they provide so much more storage. When I added it all up, it came out to be $2,700. That’s how I ended up figuring out what dollar amount to ask for in credit from my landlord.

Get Familiar With Your Air Fryer

For five months, I had a makeshift kitchen in my living room with a mini fridge, a microwave, an air fryer, and a Ninja slow cooker. The biggest delay ended up being getting an exterminator to come over before all of the cabinets went up. I didn’t want to go back to square one, right? But for months [the building management] ignored me. We got slowed down even further when I was ready for plumbing and they acted like my emails didn’t exist. That was the point when I started working some of my tenant right laws into the conversation. 

Use the Change as a Chance to Go Bold

I’m the kind of person where I’ll just start picking out whatever colors speak to me, and gray is never going to be it. I saw this color, Royal Garnet by Valspar, at Lowe’s, and it said, Imani, do it. When I worked at Waterworks, one of the things I learned from the cabinetry team was to wait to make sure paint cures, so I took the doors off their hinges, painted them, and let them sit for two to three weeks before I reinstalled them. 

Seal the Deal

Finally, there were no mice coming in from the kitchen, but I did find another hole elsewhere. I quickly fixed that on my own (shout-out to that mouse foam stuff; it works like nobody’s business!). I also put split flanges around the radiators and sealed up the holes in the back of the closets. For a while there, I’d notice something moving, but then I’d realize it’s just my dog (he’s pretty small). I haven’t seen a mouse in months, and I feel safer and more secure.