Mounting a TV when you rent

Around Auburn a lot of TVs hang in apartments, rental houses and student housing. Wall mounting in a rental is often allowed — but it's the lease, not the TV, that decides.

Step 1: Read the lease (then ask)

Look for words like "alterations," "holes," "nails" or "fixtures." Many leases allow small picture-hanging holes but say nothing about TV mounts, so ask your property manager in writing (email or the resident portal) and keep the answer. Some will say yes as long as holes are patched at move-out; some prefer that their own maintenance team does it.

Dorms: most university residence halls don't allow wall mounting at all. Check with your housing office before you buy a bracket.

Step 2: Keep damage small

• A fixed or tilt bracket uses four lag bolts into two studs — four small holes.
• Full-motion arms usually need more bolts and leave bigger marks.
• Skip in-wall wiring in rentals (it means cutting drywall). A paintable cord cover sticks to the wall and comes off cleanly.

Step 3: Move-out

Lag-bolt holes are about 1/4″ — small enough to fill with spackle, sand and touch up with paint. Ask the property manager for the paint color, or take a chip to a hardware store to match it. If we're installing a TV in your new place, we can also take down the old one and haul it away.

No-drill alternatives

• TV floor stands with a mounting pole look wall-mounted from the couch.
• Media consoles with a built-in mount arm.
• Heavy-duty adhesive solutions are not safe for TVs — skip them.

What we need from you

Tell us in the booking notes that it's a rental and whether you have permission. We'll mount with move-out in mind: bolts where they'll be easiest to patch and nothing that can't be undone.