5 Ideas to Make Your Military Housing Units Appealing
Multifamily
5 Ideas to Make Your Military Housing Units Appealing
By ExactEstate6 min read
Last reviewed: July 2026
Military Housing
As a property manager, do you offer military housing rental units? If you do, you may want to improve rental units to attract and retain your military tenants.
As government apartments, military apartments are often similar to the equipment of the men and women of the armed forces — standard issue. In other words, these rental properties don’t come with much variety. While this isn’t a problem for some, others, especially those with families, want more aesthetics atop the function of the properties they rent.
Hence, rental unit improvements are essential for higher closings and tenant retention rates. If you need ideas to beautify your military housing units, keep reading. Here are our five tips for improving the appearance of your military rental units.
Before diving into how you can breathe new life into your rental units, let’s discuss some considerations before bringing out the new wallpaper.
Two Considerations About Military Rental Unit Improvements
Military rental units differ from other affordable housing options. With that in mind, there are a few things to consider before you make improvements or unit make-readies. Here are a couple of things to think of before you improve the aesthetics of a military housing unit.
Servicemen and Servicewomen Move Around a Lot
Individuals in the armed forces will occupy properties in their deployment areas. For most military members, deployment can change at a moment’s notice. For this reason, your rental unit may have several tenants within a year — each with a distinct eye for interior design. Keep this in mind before looking into permanent decorating options.
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Military Tenants or Occupants Receive the Protection of Military Housing Laws
Some laws protect the rights of tenants who are members of the military. These laws cover everything from how to go about disputes to strict health and environmental standards your property must meet. These rights protecting servicemen and servicewomen occupying military housing are found in the 2021 Military Housing Privatization Initiative Bill of Rights.
When decorating or making unit improvements, the Bill of Rights requires you to do so in a way that makes your rental property livable for tenants. Any unit improvements you've made must be within seven years of your tenant’s occupancy, as per Item 3 of the Bill.
Our Tips for a More Aesthetically Appealing Military Rental Unit
Now that we have gotten the initial considerations, let’s discuss the improvements you can make.
#1: Keep the Paint Neutral
As mentioned, you must prepare for different occupants when renting out your unit. For many of your tenants, one of the first things they will try to change is the color of your unit’s walls. They will do this with either wallpaper or a fresh coat of paint.
Granted, the paint you select won’t appeal to every visual palate. Nevertheless, you can cover most bases by selecting neutral shades. White is a safe choice for many property owners as it provides various decorating opportunities. It’s also excellent for adding breadth to a space.
You can also select other neutral colors like lavender for bedrooms. Tan or beige is also an excellent choice for adding flexible character to a room or a common space. With your unit’s walls in neutral colors, your tenants would be less likely to change the colors. If they do, it won’t be a big deal since painting over these colors will be easy. Repainting before your tenants leave will not be a problem either.
#2. Match the Curtains with the Walls and Room
Curtains are removable and changeable. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t already have them before your military tenants move in.
When selecting curtains, ensure that they go with the walls. If your walls are in a neutral shade like white or beige, create some contrast with royal blue or ash gray. Are you looking for a way to make your unit appear larger? If so, choose white curtains to add to the optical illusion your white walls already provide.
When thinking of curtains for a room, consider the room’s purpose. For example, avoid bright colors like orange if you’re beautifying a bedroom. After all, you want the room to promote rest and sleep. Instead, opt for calming shades like seafoam green or lavender. Or, when decorating a room with a modicum of privacy, go for dark, opaque curtains.
#3. Have Shelves in Low-Traffic Places
No matter how large your rental unit is, tenants will always desire more storage space. You can either add more cupboards or shelves. Between the two options, the latter will cost less and won’t violate any apartment rules.
Shelves are easy to install and add a layer of function to even the smallest government apartments. When selecting shelves, choose ones that you can install with brackets. Also, ensure the shelves match the unit's colors for more consistent aesthetics.
Laminate wood shelves are an excellent lightweight option. However, they are not the most paintable. If you’re preparing for tenants who want to paint the shelves, choose wood.
#4. Don’t Shy Away from Decals and Removable Wallpaper
Once again, your military unit may not house a tenant for long. With this in mind, do not take removable options off the table. In particular, we’re referring to removable adhesive decors like tile decals and wallpaper.
Removable tile decals give the illusion of actual tiles. As a bonus, they allow your tenants to remove and change them. Tile decals are excellent choices when beautifying the unit's parts, like the bathroom or kitchen.
Wallpaper has long been another go-to option for occupants and property managers alike. We can attribute this to how replaceable they are and the options in colors and patterns they afford.
When selecting wallpaper, choose ones that are easy to remove. Many home improvement stores have these in various color schemes and for a broad selection of surfaces.
#5. Do All of the Above Within Seven Years After a Tenant Has Moved Out
As mentioned earlier, your military tenants have a right to a livable environment. To provide optimum living conditions, you should carry out all your unit make-readies within seven years after an occupant has moved out. You must also give your new tenants an itemized list of all the rental unit improvements you have made as part of the lease agreement.
Make Life Easier for Yourself and Your Military Tenant with ExactEstate
Believe it or not, preparing military rental housing units for your next occupants is the easy part. The hard part comes during your unit’s occupancy.
Allow us to make life easier for you and your tenants. Our platform takes the guesswork out of property management. ExactEstate is an all-in-one property management platform that handles:
Tenant screening
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And many more
Learn more about how ExactEstate adds value to your rental leasing. Schedule a demo today.
