Our landlord is obsessed with everything looking the same, but people here want to put up their own window treatments. What are tenant rights in this situation?
Sorry but I don't understand the problem. Put curtains up over them.
Read your lease. If he has assumed the right to have uniform window treatments, you're stuck
I would take them down and store them in a neatly packed box, and put them back up when I left. Meanwhile, while living there, I'd put up window treatments that I liked. But, anything that you do that causes the slightest damage, like nail or screw holes, will have to be repaired when you leave in order to get your deposit back.
As a former renter of a California apartment (no longer in CA, much better where I am now) The landlord had that stipulation in the lease. Read it carefully though. Mine said that we were not allowed to take them down, it didn't say anything about hiding them. I pulled my hideously old aluminum blinds as far up as they would go, and put up my curtains on top of them. So, I didn't violate the rules of my lease, and I didn't have those horrible dust collectors blocking my sunlight! Good luck, I know how difficult it can be!
You may be stuck. Typically, landlord want a uniform look on the exterior of their units. That doesn't mean, however, that you can't hang your own window treatments on the inside of your apartment. Sometimes simple drapery panels from a rod will divert the eye from blinds. You could even hang a 'sheer' panel or two with draperies on top via a 'double' rod. This would help minimize the blinds further. Many retailers sell cost effective 'ready-made' curtain panels with tab-tops, rod pockets, etc. which are simple to hang and look expensive.
