A little while, back, I subleased a room from a couple of people who had been renting a house for something like ten years. They had made changes similar to the

A little while, back, I subleased a room from a couple of people who had been renting a house for something like ten years. They had made changes similar to the ones you mention (painting, planting produce, raising chickens). You just have to ask, although the answer is probably no more often than not. Some people have particular tastes that are worth owning a home to satisfy. I doubt ~60% of people do.