How to File Written Consent When a Tenant Wants to Alter or DIY

Take a written request, photograph the wall before anyone starts, reply yes, yes-with-conditions or no with reinstatement, and clip the file together.

18 September 2026•1 min read•Article•IziRento Editorial

Rental operations notes from the IziRento team. Not legal advice.

Key takeaways

A mid-tenancy alteration consent file is the tenant’s written request, a dated photograph of the surface before anyone starts, and your written reply — yes, yes-with-conditions, or no — naming reinstatement if that is the deal. There is no stand-alone statutory right to decorate. A verbal “yeah fine” is not treated as consent by a Tenancy Deposit Scheme adjudicator. Clip the request, consent, before and after photos, and any contractor invoice together on this tenancy.

The tenant is already buying the paint, and the only yes is a WhatsApp, a verbal “yeah fine”, or nothing. When someone later asks what you agreed and what colour the lounge was, there is no dated request. It does not name the room, the materials, and who will do the work. There is no photograph of the wall before anyone starts. Take that request in writing, photograph the surface first, reply yes, yes-with-conditions, or no, and keep the clip together.

Saturday at Nell’s one let in Plymouth. The tenant WhatsApps “painting the lounge this weekend yeah?”. She replies “fine”. Nobody photographs the magnolia wall. On Monday the lounge is navy, there are drips on the skirting, and the only file is that WhatsApp. The risk is November: the tenancy is ending and there is no dated yes, no colour named, no reinstatement line, and no before photo of the original surface.

The problem is not that they asked to paint. It is that a verbal “yeah fine” is not consent a deposit adjudicator will treat as written permission. NRLA drawing on TDS (Sandy Bastin, 1 June 2026): a verbal agreement is not treated as consent by a TDS adjudicator. Typical mistake: treating Saturday’s thumbs-up as the file. Rocket Lawyer (23 April 2026): a residential consent letter is not a licence to alter.

Disclaimer: IziRento is operations software, not legal advice. Local tenancy rules vary; check a qualified adviser for binding decisions.

How do you take a written request instead of a thumbs-up?

Get the request in writing before you issue a yes. Name the room, the materials, who will do the work, proposed dates, and the property address. A WhatsApp can be the request if it names those fields — save the thread as a PDF. A verbal “yeah fine” is not the file.

Do write those five fields before you reply yes. For example, Nell’s Saturday thread can be the request once it names lounge, colour, and who holds the roller. LegalDocuments (August 2026): no stand-alone statutory right to decorate; most agreements require prior written consent. Marks Out of Tenancy (28 August 2026): refuse vague “can I decorate?”. Shelter (1 May 2026): private tenants usually need permission in writing. Do not treat a viewing chat as this file.

Written request fields versus a thumbs-up: room, materials, who works, dates, address

What to photograph before anyone starts?

Photograph the named surface before anyone starts. Use the same wall, dated, with enough of the room that November can see colour and condition. This is a mid-tenancy surface shot for this request, not a second walk of the whole let. If they have already started, still photograph now and date the photos today.

Do shoot the wall they named, not a random hallway. NRLA (1 June 2026): if you discover repainting mid-tenancy, address it in writing immediately. How to run a check-in inventory owns the day-one baseline. Inventory photograph standards shows how to shoot a useful wall photo. Do not pretend last Saturday’s missing magnolia shot exists.

Dated photograph of the named wall and a paint chip of the original colour

How do you reply yes, yes-with-conditions, or no?

Reply in writing: yes, yes-with-conditions, or no. Date it. If it is a yes with conditions, name what is permitted, the materials, who does the work, and workmanship. Name access with notice, who pays, and whether they must reinstate at the end. Silence is not consent.

Do name reinstatement if that is the deal — original colour, or leave-as-is. Rocket Lawyer (23 April 2026): typical conditions include materials, workmanship, 24-hour access, and putting the property back if you request it. Do not leave that line blank.

Do write a dated no that names what was refused. LegalDocuments: silence is not yes. A disability-related improvement on a tenancy that already allows improvements with consent is different. Equality Act 2010 section 190 expects a written decision and reasons if you refuse. Do not back-date a yes you did not give.

Three written replies: yes, yes-with-conditions, or no, with reinstatement named

Alteration consent clip

Keep	Why it is on this clip
Written request	Room, materials, who does the work, dates, address
Dated before photos	Original colour and condition of the named surface
Written reply	Yes / yes-with-conditions / no, reinstatement named
After photos	What was actually done
Contractor invoice copy	Who did the consented work

Which papers belong in the same consent clip?

Keep request, consent, before and after photos, and any contractor invoice together. Label the clip alteration-consent-YYYY-MM-DD. It sits with this tenancy, next to the alterations clause, not in a mixed certificates drawer. When the work is finished, add the after photos.

Do file a decorator invoice copy here because it proves who did the consented work. How to keep contractor invoices owns the paid-work folder; this card keeps a copy. LetSorted (11 June 2026): you cannot deduct for alterations you consented to. In practice: November opens one PDF, not a hunt across inboxes. Do set the folder date to the written reply. Do not leave the invoice in WhatsApp and the letter in email.

What to do if they started before you answered?

Still build the file this week. Photograph what is already done versus remaining, and date the photos today. Write a dated reply: permission from today, or a refusal plus stop-work, reinstatement, or professional making-good. Do not wait until keys come back.

Do write what you will and will not accept from today. NRLA (1 June 2026): from 1 May 2026 assured periodic tenancies have no fixed end date, so address unauthorised changes during the tenancy. The risk is arguing memory at check-out. Fair wear versus damage evidence is the check-out test; this clip is what November reads first. Do not invent last Saturday’s missing before shot.

When to refuse electrical or structural DIY?

If the request is sockets, a shower, a consumer-unit change, or outdoor wiring, it sits beyond decoration. Treat it as a condition on the same sitting, or refuse. Write no, or yes only with a competent person and a certificate. Landlord electrical safety duties do not pause because the tenant held the screwdriver. Then file that line on this clip.

Do put the competent-person condition in the same reply. LetSorted: Electrical Safety Standards in the PRS (England) Regulations 2020 require BS 7671 throughout the tenancy; councils can issue penalties of up to £30,000. Do not treat a lounge paint job as a licence to alter — that deed is a different instrument.

Do file the clip on this let. Success bar: Saturday opens one card — written request, before photo, dated yes with reinstatement named, after photos, invoice copy if a decorator attended. Verify that checklist, then stop. Workflow: written request → before photo → written reply → clip. An IziRento workspace can hold those records next to the lease.

Alteration consent file on this tenancy

Get the request in writing
Room, materials, who works, dates, address. Save the email or WhatsApp PDF.
Photograph the surface before anyone starts
Dated shot of the named wall. If work has begun, photograph today.
Reply yes, yes-with-conditions, or no
Date it. Name materials, who works, workmanship, access, who pays, reinstatement.
Add a competent-person line if the work is beyond decoration
Sockets, showers, consumer units: write no, or yes only with a competent person and a certificate.
Clip request, consent, before/after and any invoice together
Label alteration-consent-YYYY-MM-DD next to this tenancy’s alterations clause.
If they started before you answered, still build the file this week
Write what you will accept from today and keep the photos.

FAQ

Is a WhatsApp “yeah fine” a file?

No. Save it as the request if it names room, materials and who works. NRLA and TDS do not treat a verbal agreement as written consent. Issue a dated yes, yes-with-conditions, or no.

What conditions belong in the yes?

Name the room, materials and who works. Add workmanship, who pays, access with notice if needed, and whether they must reinstate. Leave-as-is is also a written choice.

What if they start before I answer?

Photograph now. Write a dated reply: permission from today, or a refusal plus making-good. Do not back-date a yes you did not give.

Can I charge a fee for issuing the consent letter?

If this is a tenancy variation at the tenant’s request, Tenant Fees Act 2019 Schedule 1 paragraph 6 permits the greater of £50 or reasonable costs on invoices. Do not invent a higher fee. This card is the file.

Is this the same as the check-in inventory?

No. This is a mid-tenancy surface shot for this request. How to run a check-in inventory owns the day-one baseline. Do not re-walk the whole let.

What if the paint looks like damage at check-out?

Read this clip first: what was permitted, whether reinstatement was named, and the before photo. Unauthorised paint is not automatically a full-cost claim. Fair wear versus damage evidence is the check-out test.

Keep the consent clip on the same lease

Hold the written request, the dated yes and the before-and-after photos on one record.

Try the workspace

Take a written request, photograph the wall before anyone starts, reply yes, yes-with-conditions or no with reinstatement, and clip the file together.

Sources

Next steps