The best flooring for a rental property

What is the best flooring for a rental property?

Rigid-core SPC vinyl plank with a 20 mil wear layer is the best flooring for a Canadian rental property. It is waterproof, resists the scratching that comes with tenants moving furniture, tolerates an unheated vacancy, and individual planks can be replaced after damage without redoing the room. Expect $5 to $9 per square foot installed. Choose a mid-tone, textured, wood-look finish, which hides wear and dust far better than either very dark or very light smooth products. Avoid carpet in living areas and bedrooms if turnover is frequent, because it rarely survives more than two tenancies and cannot be cleaned to a new condition. Keep 10 percent of the material from the original order in storage, because matching a discontinued product three years later is usually impossible.

Total cost over tenancies

The right comparison is not price per square foot but cost per year of service. Carpet at $4 per square foot replaced every three tenancies costs more than vinyl at $7 replaced every fifteen years, and it costs more in turnover time as well.

Damage and repairability

Click vinyl's ability to have single planks replaced is worth real money in a rental. A cigarette burn, a gouge from an appliance or a water-damaged section can be fixed in an hour rather than triggering a full replacement and lost rental days.

Colour and finish choice

Mid-tone textured wood looks hide dust, scratches and pet hair. Very dark floors show every speck of dust and every scratch; very light floors show dirt and stains. Matte finishes hide wear far better than gloss. This single choice affects how good a unit shows at every future viewing.

Vacancy conditions

Student rentals in Waterloo, Kingston and London sit empty and often unheated over the summer. Seasonal fluctuations in temperature and humidity destroy laminate and stress hardwood. SPC vinyl is dimensionally stable through those cycles, which is why it dominates that market.

Keeping attic stock

Order 10 percent extra and store it in the conditioned part of the building. Flooring products are discontinued and production batches vary in colour, so matching a repair three years later without original stock usually means replacing a whole room.

Common questions

Is carpet ever right in a rental?

In bedrooms of a long-tenancy property, yes — it is inexpensive, quiet and warm, and bedrooms see the least abuse. In a high-turnover unit or anywhere accidents happen, no. Budget for replacing it every two to three tenancies if you use it.

What wear layer should I specify for a rental?

Twenty mil minimum. Twelve mil is the residential standard and is adequate for an owner-occupied home, but rental turnover concentrates a decade of wear into a few years. The upgrade costs roughly $1 per square foot and doubles the practical life.

Do I need an acoustic underlay in a rental duplex?

It is strongly advisable. Noise between units is the most common source of tenant complaints and disputes in multi-unit buildings. Acoustic underlay costs $0.50 to $1.50 per square foot at installation and is impossible to add later without lifting the floor.

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