What is prohibited is really up to you. It’s your property so it makes sense to prevent the T/B from doing major renovations without your consent.
As for making maintenance/repairs the T/B’s responsibilities, you should check on your state’s landlord/tenant laws. I believe most states place the burden of major repairs and maintenance on the landlord, so while you can require the T/B to do repairs it may be difficult to enforce in court.
i noticed that some L/O Agreements mention that repairs are the responsibility of the t/b. also, that major renovations are to be approved by the seller. this is a concept i need clarification on.
the reason the t/b got into the l/o is because at some point they would like to purchase the property. they should take care of maintenance due to the fact that they should start “thinking” as potential homeowners? but at the same time, they need to get approval for major improvements from the seller. obviously, if they don’t option to purchase, then the seller has an improvement that he really didn’t care for.
so… where are the lines drawn? what can, or should, the t/b be responsible for and get away with, and what things should really be prohibited? it’s not so much as to paint and change a door knob style. but what if the t/b sets up track lighting, and perhaps doesn’t really know what he/she is doing. the option isn’t exercised, and now the seller has track lighting with potential hazard implications.