In the ever-growing list of expansions Maxis and EA have brought out since the launch of Sims 4 all the way back in 2014, property management hasn’t had much screen time. The Sims 4: For Rent is the fifteenth expansion of the long-running series that focuses on this aspect of homemaking. It’s a chance to test out your skills as a landlord, or if you can’t afford to delve into the ridiculously priced housing market, to test out the renter lifestyle.

The expansion introduces a new region, Tomarang, a Southeast Asian-inspired world that focuses strongly on community closeness, and the cultural influence carries into the properties with a night market, lush parks, and a tiger sanctuary. With two districts, Koh Sahpa and Morensong, the area is vibrant, with a lovely mix of cultural and coastal.

The purples and blues in the scenery alongside lush greenery really stand out from the base-game maps, making it a lovely little spot for a Sim family to settle down. For those who wish to experience property management in a different region, fret not, the tenancy system carries over to the full game if the expansion is owned.

There are only 9 lots to work with, though the few empty spaces are well-sized for creating residential properties, and with 2 residential lots, 2 residential rentals, 3 empty lots, and 2 community lots, room for creation is limited. I found that travelling to community areas was pretty underwhelming too.

The night markets involved a few vendors where your Sims could grab a bite, and the Tiger Sanctuary was a gorgeous temple where you could “adopt a tiger,” but at no point could you enter, nor did you ever see it. The visuals of Tomarang and the usual upbeat, pleasant Sims music add plenty of charm, but the lacklustre lot count didn’t meet my property development expectations.

New clothing and appearance options are along the same lines, featuring a strong cultural influence. While there are some beautiful outfits, hairstyles, and body art, there are also a lot of basic items that don’t stand out. I found I stuck more to base game clothing, as mixing and matching between the pack and base game styles tended to clash. New build items are decent, and once again come with a cultural spin.

The pack has some beautiful furnishings, including a shrine and traditional decor, and there are plenty of colour swatches for each item. These are perfect if you’re after a very culturally specific vibe in your Sim household, but there’s not much variety in style to suit every interior designer’s taste.

Building can be a chore when setting boundaries within the lot, spaces need to be assigned correctly to each tenant. The hardest part for me was making sure the shared spaces linked up in a way that everyone could make their way through the property. I found most of the pre-existing properties didn’t suit my needs, instead opting to start from scratch, which was easier said than done with the somewhat clunky build mode. With limited space, I had a few awkward wall and door placements, and one of my residents had to use the balcony just to get to the bathroom. The real blessing is the gallery, where community creators make custom housing. These are readily available to download in-game, which for the architecturally challenged like me, really helped to get some lovely units up for lease much faster.

As usual, your Sims move into a lot, but you now have the option to set properties as residential rentals, and yous Sims can move in as either a landlord or a tenant. It adds a whole new level of challenge to The Sims, with more variables to consider, and much more to manage. Being a landlord and wrangling tenants is no easy feat. Of course, the perk of being a landlord is making sweet Simoleons off renters, but at a price, and needing to micromanage the day-to-day runnings of the property can end in disaster if not handled swiftly.

Properties have a star rating which is judged based on amenities provided and the upkeep of the lot. When getting residents into the property, a Tenancy Agreement is created in the new tenant agreement menu, and landlords must set up a list of benefits, like fast internet or pleasant breezes to suit different Sims and their goals. Issues plaguing the building, like infestations, mould, and naturally, hauntings, up the stakes and test management skills, and keeping the place in tip-top shape is a surefire way to keep the ratings high, but a slip-up can cause a rapid plummet in ratings before you know it.

Hot water systems, solar panels, fuse boxes, and air conditioning units have been introduced, adding more chaos to the never-ending list of landlord responsibilities. These appear to be optional, but they can make a huge difference if they malfunction. Landlords can generally perform some maintenance on showers, appliances, and the like, but often getting a contractor seems to be the more effective choice. Speaking of, for those who prefer a more “hands-on” approach, the new Handyperson part-time job is another good side hustle for some extra Simoleons.

Sims have some new personality traits available, including Nosy, Generous, Cringe, Child of the Village, and Wise. New property-centric and culturally inspired Aspirations are available too, with Seeker of Secrets, Fount of Tomarani Knowledge, Discerning Dweller, and Five-Star Property Owner. All these new additions add to the overall experience of what it means to be a member of the Tomarang community, and speaking of this, there are 2 new types of social events, pool party and neighbourhood potluck, where your Sims can spend some time with the locals, but they don’t massively differ from any other household party.

Being a landlord was an interesting experience, and as a control freak, I was thankful I could implement rules such as no loud noises and no ghosts, but it also involved a lot of waiting for something to happen. I found through my inspections that there were small repairs to be done here and there, but for the most part, life went on as it always does.

Living with others has its quirks, and when my inner landlord kicked in, I didn’t tolerate breaches of the property rules. One particular tenant did not enjoy being told to clean up after herself, I promptly imposed a fine and evicted her, and this was when I enjoyed being a landlord.

On the other end, being a tenant isn’t much different from the usual Sims experience, just with the restrictions of rental living. Having to be mindful of the rules tends to not be a struggle for me, but if I left my Sims alone for a few moments, it wasn’t long before they made a literal or figurative mess. For the really messy players, the new snooping and break-in features are wrong in all the right ways. I enjoyed being spiteful to a bad landlord or finding ways to wrought difficult tenants. This is where the Sims shines most for me, living for the chaos is the correct way to play, and these new features are the perfect way to wreak havoc.

The biggest deal breaker for me was loading screens. The game chugged when moving between each unit zone, and there were many occasions where loading screens occurred just to commute in the same property. In build mode, the process of building walls and jumping between menus lagged, taking away my motivation to create my own spaces.

Overall, The Sims 4: For Rent expansion is a nice twist on the usual formula of The Sims, adding a focus to the property management side of things. While the added element of overseeing landlord duties or living as a tenant adds a few small changes, there isn’t much notable difference from the base game to justify the price. That said, for those who want to give rental management and living a try, this is a good starting point to experience it – without the hefty real-life costs.

Written by: Yasmin Noble