4 Best Flooring Option for Rental Properties

There are a lot of things that landlords need to get right when building a rental property. There’s the location of the property, the overall rent to be charged, and the right time to buy. However, one less spoken yet essential factor to take care of is the flooring.

It is after all the foundation of any home. Good flooring is especially important if you’re leasing an unfurnished or semi-furnished property since it is the first thing that your potential tenants will notice.

In this article, we’re going to look at 4 of the best flooring options for rental properties.

Factors to Consider for Floors of Rental Properties

• Appearance

When it comes to flooring, looks definitely matter. We’ll go to the extent of saying this might be the most important factor on this list. A great-looking flooring increases your property’s value and while the cost of rent surely does matter, most tenants wouldn’t mind paying a little extra to get a property with attractive flooring.

• Durability

As a rental property, the flooring is going to be subjected to a lot of damage through the years. The extent of the damage will be even worse if tenants change every 3-4 years because each tenant will have a different style of living. A durable flooring will help you save money in the long run by minimizing repairs.

• Resale Value

We often talk about floorings that help increase the resale value of homes. Knowing this is particularly important if you’re a landlord as rental properties, unlike personal properties, mostly get sold in the long run rather than getting passed down through the generations.

• The Tenant

Another important factor to consider is — who is going to be the tenant? There are 3 great ways to answer this question.

1. First of all, consider the facilities around your rental property. If your property is close to a university, you’re going to be having a lot of college crowd. This means you can invest in more average-looking but affordable flooring options.

2. The second way to answer this question is by thinking about the total rent that you’re going to charge the tenants. If the rent of your property is on the higher side then you’re most likely going to have a family living in your property. This would mean that you need durable flooring to handle children and pets running around.

3. Finally, you can also answer this question by just inspecting the location of your property. If your rental property is located in a metropolitan city like Los Angeles, then the appearance of the flooring will be the biggest selling factors.

Best Flooring Options for Rental Properties

In the world of flooring, there’s no scope for a one-size-fits-all approach. For that reason, we’re going to be listing the most preferable flooring options according to the rooms they would most likely be suitable in.

1. Luxury Vinyl Plank - Best for Living Rooms

Luxury vinyl plank (or LVP as it’s commonly called) is our pick for the best flooring you can get for the living room of your rental property. It is a more advanced form of standard vinyl flooring that can imitate not just the appearance but also the texture of hardwood flooring.

Living rooms are usually the biggest room in most homes, so it makes sense to find a more affordable flooring option for such an area. Despite its name, luxury vinyl flooring does just that. This flooring is also great because it requires zero maintenance and can be cleaned without much effort.

A close runner-up for the best living room flooring is hardwood flooring. Yes, it is expensive and terrible against moisture but it is the most sought-after flooring option by homeowners and tenants. Living rooms don’t require waterproof flooring in most cases anyway.

2. Hardwood Flooring - Best for Bedrooms

If not in the living room, then at least the bedroom deserves the chance to have the Rolls Royce of floorings — hardwood flooring. It is one of the oldest and most classic flooring options on this list. We did mention that this is an expensive flooring but there is a workaround for that.

Since bedrooms are smaller than living rooms, you can use authentic hardwood flooring over there and reduce your overall cost. If it’s still too expensive, rather than using it for all bedrooms, you can limit it to just the master bedroom. We also recommend hardwood flooring because it can be refinished over and over again.

Another common flooring we see in bedrooms is wall-to-wall carpet flooring. Besides the elegant aesthetic it creates, this is a great option if you live in one of the colder regions in the US. We’ve ranked this flooring below hardwood flooring for bedrooms because it does not handle stains that well.

3. Ceramic or Porcelain Tile - Best for Kitchens

Unlike other room categories on this list, selecting the right flooring for the kitchen has been a piece of cake.

That’s because ceramic and porcelain tiles are everything that you would want from a flooring for your kitchen; they’re strong, affordable, and one of the most vibrant and colorful floorings that you will see anywhere.

We like these tiles because they don’t stain easily and are 100% waterproof. This is especially an important factor for a kitchen flooring to have because, amidst all the cooking and food preparation, spills are just impossible to prevent.

4. Natural Stone Tile - Best for Bathrooms

This is one of the more subjective selections on this list because as a matter of fact, ceramic and porcelain tiles are fully capable of being the best flooring for bathrooms. Since they’re waterproof and natural stone is generally porous, it seems like a no-brainer to choose them. So, why have we selected natural stone instead?

That’s because, unlike ceramic and porcelain tiles, natural stone provides the feet a better grip on wet surfaces and reduces any potential accidents. Water damage is also not such a big issue for this flooring as it can easily be sealed and become impervious to moisture.

Natural stone tiles are more expensive than ceramic and porcelain tiles since they’re made from naturally forming rocks. This again might seem like a demerit of this flooring but it is actually a plus point. Just like hardwood flooring, natural stone tiles increase the resale value of your home, so in the long run — this flooring pays you back.

Conclusion

The great thing about choosing flooring is that there rarely is ever a crystal clear answer about what is the best flooring. This helps you break down what “best” means for you; ultimately guiding you to a more sound and rational decision.

In this article, we’ve done that for you by inspecting what each room might require from its floor, especially in a rental property. To recap, 4 of the best flooring options in a rental property are -

1. Luxury Vinyl Plank - Best for Living Rooms

2. Hardwood Flooring - Best for Bedrooms

3. Ceramic and Porcelain Tile - Best for Kitchens

4. Natural Stone Tile - Best for Bathrooms

Need more flooring options for your rental property? Floors2Day is here to help!

Reach out to us at Floors2Day by giving us a call at 877-356-6759 or booking an appointment online using this link. (If you book online, you say $150!)  We offer our flooring services in Maryland, Delaware, Washington D.C., Virginia, Wisconsin, and Illinois! 

Here at Floors2Day, we provide the best quality flooring products, coupled with excellent customer service, and quick and easy installation.

 With over 20 years of experience in flooring, we have seen it all. Every client is unique, and our services are always custom to your needs! We also proudly offer 12-month 0% interest and 90-days deferred financing, learn more here! So, sit back and relax as our team provides you with an amazing, worry-free renovation experience.

To learn more about the flooring options we offer, click here.