Offering improvements when new lease includes a rent increase?

[Matt R.]

Hello all!

I have a SFR that I first rented out nearly two years ago. The same tenants have been there the whole time, and their lease renewal is coming up. They already told me they want to renew; we just need to sign the updated lease.

I have held the line on rent for two years now.  I would like to increase it about 2.8% (less than $400 a year), to keep up with the market, insurance, property taxes, etc.  I would call it a B-class rental, for the area it's in.

I don't think the tenants will object to this increase, but I have been considering offering some improvements to help "offset" the increase.  The two I've come up with are 1) offering to paint one or two of the rooms - they pick the color, I buy the paint and do the work or 2) giving them a "budget" of up to $X (X < 100 or so) for new light fixtures - they pick the fixtures from anywhere, locally or online, I buy the fixtures and install them.

Personally, I like the light fixture idea more - they're (usually) a lot faster to install. Nothing is really wrong with the ones that are there now, but the bedroom ones are like the ones I grew up with in a mid-60s house (the square bent glass), and I figure they might like something more modern.  There is also a ceiling fan in the dining area, which always seemed a little weird to me; maybe they'd like a more dining-room-ish fixture.

Painting takes longer and is harder to do around their stuff.  They could do the classic "shove everything to the middle", and I'd throw plastic over it, but it's more work for both them and me.

Question: Is this a reasonable thing to offer at this time?  I want them to feel like they are getting some kind of value for their money.  Or is there something else I should offer?

Thanks!