The Sims 4: Lot Traits & How to Use Them
Lot traits in The Sims 4 were first introduced to the game when The Sims 4: City Living was released. Not only did this introduce apartment lot traits but there were also a ton of lot traits available for the base game.
The purpose of lot traits is to customize your homes in a totally new way that will help your sims gain skills more quickly, or add some creepy critters or so many other awesome things that can happen when you add a lot trait to your home.
In this guide to Sims 4 lot traits, we are going to talk about how to add lot traits, and then go into pack-specific lot traits so you can see the ones for the packs you own!
How to Add Lot Traits
Lot traits are added to your homes in build mode which you can enter through the button in the top right corner or by pressing F2 in game. When you’re in build mode you click on the small house icon in the top left corner.
You can choose up to 3 lot traits or have none at all, the choice is entirely up to you. You can add or delete lot traits at any time and change them depending on which traits your sims can benefit from the most. However, there are certain apartment lot traits that are not removable in city living (i.e., historical). To delete a lot trait hover over the one you wish to remove and click the small x in the corner.
Base Game Lot Traits
Homey
“The homey vibe helps sims quickly master the domestic arts of cooking, mixology, handiness, and gardening.”
The homey lot trait will give your sim a 50% boost in developing their cooking, baking, gourmet cooking, gardening, mixology, and handiness skill. This is really valuable for culinary and mixology careers as well as a sim with a green thumb.
Bracing Breezes
“Oodles of fresh air make for a bracing environment to exercise”
The bracing breezes lot trait will give your sim a 50% boost in developing their athletic skill and with the addition of The Sims 4: Spa Day, you can also get a boost to your wellness skill.
Great Acoustics
“The acoustics are perfect here! A great place for any musician to hone their skills.”
The great acoustics lot trait will give your sim a 50% boost in developing their guitar, violin, piano, organ, DJ mixing, and singing skills. Great for someone who is doing the entertainer career or is trying to make side money through playing instruments for tips.
Fast Internet
“A great online connection helps out those looking to improve their Programming, Video Gaming, and Writing skills”.
The fast internet lot trait gives your sim a 50% boost in developing any skills that are built on the computer, so programming, writing and video gaming are all affected. Great for someone in the Computer Whiz aspiration.
Private Dwelling
“A home lot with this trait deters all but the most determined visitors.”
The private dwelling lot trait is really nice if you don’t want the annoying house guests to visit every few hours and knock on your door. No sims will come visit your household unless you invite them.
Natural Light
“The quality of light here makes Painting and Photography much easier to master.”
The natural light lot trait gives your sims a 50% boost to developing their painting and photography skills and can be helpful for the Painter Extraordinaire Aspiration.
Teen Neighbourhood
“More teens will hang out in the neighborhood that surrounds this lot. You’ll spot them roaming around and loitering in the streets, as teens are known to do. It’s a good opportunity for teens in your household to meet new friends their own age!”
The teen neighborhood lot trait is an awesome one if you have teenager sims in your household because sometimes it can be hard to find other teen sims to become friends with.
Science Lair
“The secluded vibe means there’s little to distract great minds from the study of Logic or Rocket Science.”
The science lair lot trait will give your sim a 50% boost to developing their rocket science and logic skills which is really helpful if you want to visit Sixam!
Convivial
“The spacious but intimate feel makes it easier to practice Charisma, Comedy, and Mischief to your heart’s content.”
The convivial lot trait is a great one for practicing social skills and will give your sim a 50% boost to their charisma, comedy, and mischief skills while in their home. This is really helpful if your sim is working towards the Entertainer Career in the comedy track.
Off-The-Grid
“This lot isn’t connected to electricity or plumbing (meaning no utility bills either). Talk about natural living!”
The off-the-grid lot trait was added in a patch in June 2019 and makes things like rags to riches challenges much more fun. This means that your shower options change to only Take Quick & Tepid Shower, you cannot use anything that requires electricity (i.e., television, computers, etc), and you can only use your stove if you cook with gas. This is a really awesome lot trait that can change up your gameplay a lot.
Clothing Optional
“This lot embraces an open, natural lifestyle empowering visitors to shed strict material conventions and prudish societal moors… and their clothes.” Paragraph
Well, the clothing optional lot trait makes… clothing optional. Meaning that your sims have the option to run around lots being completely naked and will just be covered by some pixels. Can make for some… interesting gameplay.
City Living Lot Traits
Gnomes
“Broke things just seem to get mended overnight. It’s as if kindly Gnomes watch over the place…”
The gnomes lot trait makes it so that any broken item in your household will magically be repaired by the time your sim wakes up in the morning.
Sunny Aspect
“The beautiful scenery really makes this place uplifting. When the sun goes down, Sims may get Energized, Happy, or Inspired.”
With the sunny aspect lot trait, starting from 6pm to 6 am your sims are going to get either an inspired, energized, or happy moodlet that will last the entire 12 hours.
Romantic Aura
“Romantic aura makes it easier to get other people in the mood for LURVE!”
The romantic aura lot trait makes it so that sims in your household can get a flirty moodlet if they are doing any romantic interactions. Other sims who aren’t in your household will feel flirty when they enter your home way more often.
Child’s Play
“Kids just seem to learn faster here.”
The child’s play lot trait will give your child sims a playful mood if they are using any children’s object. This also applies to any adult with the childish trait.
Home Studio
“The artsy vibes makes this a great place to be creative. Painting, Writing and Woodworking usually comes out better quality.”
The home studio lot trait will make it so your sims will create better objects that you’ll be able to sell for even more money. This is helpful for things like the Painter Extraordinaire and Best Selling Author aspirations because they both need masterpiece quality work created.
Gremlins
“Stuff breaks here a lot. It’s like there are tiny goblins that come out at night and smash things… but that’s ridiculous, right?”
The gremlins lot trait makes it so that random objects in your sim’s houses are going to break in the middle of the night. This is really helpful if you want to grow your sim’s handiness skill, but very annoying to fix each morning.
Grody
“Sims have a chance to get nauseous when eating, drinking, or using the bathroom.”
The grody lot trait makes it so that your sim has a 1 in 3 chance of getting nauseous anytime they are eating or drink and anytime they are using the bathroom.
Good Schools
“The local school is great! Kids seem to get high grades and usually do better at homework.”
The good schools lot trait increases your sims school performance each day and will help them get an A in school. They will also sometimes get a “quality education” moodlet that will make them confident.
Cursed
“Lots of things seem to go wrong in this Apartment.”
The cursed lot trait makes for some less than ideal situations in your sim’s homes. Your food is going to spoil quicker, you will probably cause more fires when cooking, your sims will get randomly uncomfortable or tense when just doing regular tasks. They are even more likely to die from things like exhaustion and electrocution.
Haunted
“Locals say this place is haunted! Pah! What do they know?”
The haunted lot trait will make it so that ghosts are going to appear in your sim’s home each night and will usually break a few objects and cause some drama.
Penny Pixies
“Sims often find loose change around the place. It’s like there’s a secret money fairy or something.”
The penny pixies lot trait help your sims earn a bit of extra money when just doing things around their house and when they find money they have a chance to get a happy moodlet.
Mean Vibe
“The mean vibe makes it easier to get other Sims angry with mean or mischief interactions.”
The mean vibe lot trait will give your sims a nice angry moodlet anytime they are doing mean or mischief interactions.
On Ley Line
“Full of funky fertile earth energy, twins are born here more often than not.”
The on ley line lot trait makes it more likely that your sims are going to give birth to twins or triplets. This is the perfect lot trait if you are doing the 100 Baby Challenge!
Quake Zone
“Occasionally there’s a minor tremor here. Probably nothing to worry about…”
The quake zone lot trait can make earthquakes happen at random times throughout the game, and when this happens your sims are going to feel tense and some of your household objects break.
Great Soil
“Gardening just seems to go really well here.”
The great soil lot trait makes it so that your garden will grow better quality, and your plants will grow faster. This lot trait is really awesome if you’re doing the Freelance Botanist Aspiration.
Filthy
“From clogged sewers to grimy counters, this place seems to get dirty really quickly.”
The filthy lot trait makes your sim’s house become dirty rather quickly. You’ll frequently be cleaning plumbing, and counters, and you may need to have a maid just to live in a house with this trait.
Party Place
“Parties just seem to go well at this place. Meeting social event goals becomes much easier.”
The party place lot trait makes it so that any romantic interactions and friendly interactions do better doing social events. It also makes the social event goals way easier to accomplish. This is a great lot trait if you’re working on the Party Animal Aspiration.
Chef’s Kitchen
“Food prepared in this kitchen just seems to taste better and usually comes out better quality.”
The chef’s kitchen lot trait helps your sim’s food taste better and will give a nice inspired moodlet from their new inspirational kitchen. This is awesome if your sim’s are famous and have the refined palette quirk and need to eat high quality food, or for someone who is working toward the Master Chef Aspiration.
Locked Apartment Traits
These traits are only available to apartments that they are already assigned to. You are not able to add these traits to any other apartment, and you are also not able to delete these lot traits from a specific apartment that they are assigned to.
Serviced Apartment
“The rent for this apartment includes maid service.”
The serviced apartment lot trait is a great one and comes with a more expensive apartment in The Sims 4: City Living. This trait makes it so that you get a maid each weekday for completely free so you can keep your fancy apartment clean.
Great View
“The beautiful vies are sure to lift anyone’s spirits.”
The great view lot trait can give your sims a “fantastic view” moodlet anytime they are around a window in their apartment. This is a great way to keep your sims happy.
Historical
“The landlord has one rule – the inspirational plaque dedicated to a famous historical resident can never be removed or sold.”
The historical lot trait adds an interesting piece of decor, a plaque that you are never allowed to delete, or even move to a different part of the apartment. If your sim views the plaque they can get an inspired moodlet.
Quiet
“Maybe it’s the insulation or maybe the neighbors are very polite. Either way, it’s never noisy here.”
The quiet lot trait is a great one because your sims are unable to sleep when your neighbors are being noisy. An apartment with this lot trait will never have a noisy neighbor.
Romantic Fireplace
“A flirty vibe radiates from the beautiful fireplace in this apartment. The Landlord won’t allow this fireplace to be removed or sold.”
The romantic fireplace lot trait makes it so there’s a fireplace in your apartment and you aren’t able to move or delete the fireplace. If you’re close to the fireplace your sims can receive a flirty moodlet. This can be great for someone pursuing the Serial Romantic Aspiration.
Lively Neighbors
“The neighbors live life to the max. There’s often a party going on.”
The lively neighbors lot trait is one of the less awesome lot traits for apartments because your neighbors are going to have a lot of parties and keep you awake often.
Needs TLC
“A great place to practice your Handiness skills!”
The needs TLC lot trait makes your apartments less than ideal, but can be a great way to improve your handiness or develop a good relationship with your landlord. These apartments will have roaches, mice, weird smells, pipes that burst, and power outages.
Vampires Lot Traits
Vampire Nexus
“A dark voice envelopes this lot in the upside down. Vampires are more likely to visit the area.”
The vampire nexus lot trait makes it so that more vampires can visit your lot often, and can be great if you’re working on your vampire powers because you need to learn some information from other vampires.
On A Dark Ley Line
“The dark energy here has an impact on all nocturnal activities. You can expect babies conceived here to require extra care while teething.”
The On a Dark Ley Line lot trait will increase the chances of a baby being born as a vampire and this may happen even if the parents are not both vampires. This can also make it so you get vampires twins or triplets.
Registered Vampire Lair
“The lot registers as a vampire lair. The league will send various gifts from time to time. Through the mail, no less. Even the immortals use the public mail service”
The registered vampire lair lot trait makes it so that your vampire household will receive things in the mail from other vampires, I’ve gotten vampire books, plasma packs, and more.
Cats & Dogs Lot Traits
Training Ground
“Sims gain Pet Training skill faster on this lot.”
The training ground lot trait allows your sims to get a 50% boost to the pet training skill which will also help them train their pets easier.
Dog Hangout
“Stray dogs will hang out at this lot”
The dog hangout lot trait will let your lot have dog visitors all the time. You’ll see a ton of stray dogs coming to visit who you can become friends with and if you leave pet bowls out to feed them they’ll love you forever.
Dog Friendly
“Dog Owners will visit this lot with their dogs.”
The dog friendly lot trait is specifically for community lots and lets you bring your dogs into these lots and you’ll also see a lot of other dogs at these lots as well and can be great for the Friend of the Animals Aspiration.
Cat Hangout
“Stray cats really love this lot. Meow!”
The cat hangout lot trait will let your lot have cat visitors all the time. There will be tons of stray cats hanging out and you can become their friends and leave bowls out to feed them to make sure they are happy.
Cat Friendly
“Cat owners will visit this lot with their cats.”
The cat friendly lot trait is specifically for community lots and allows you to bring your cats to these lots and you’ll see a ton of other cats. That makes these lots a great place to go if you’re working on the Friend of the Animals Aspiration.
Breeding Grounds
“Increase the chances for pets to have larger pet litters.”
The breeding grounds lot trait will help your cats and dogs have more than one baby in their litters, think of this as the pet version of On Ley Line.
Jungle Adventure Lot Traits
Peace and Quiet
“Something about this lot makes it great for reading. Sims understand more, so they gain skill faster from reading, and Tense moods go away faster.”
The peace and quiet lot trait makes it so your sims will enjoy reading books more and even helps their gain skill faster from skill building books that they have purchased. They will also see their tense moods go away faster which can be great if you like to make your sims work hard at work.
Creepy Crawlies
“It seems that some creepy pests have taken up residence here. Be prepared; when they hit you’ll never see them coming.”
The creepy crawlies lot trait is one of the worst lot traits in my opinion since creepy crawlies are not a fun experience. This trait will make it so that spiders, bees and bats will randomly decided to spawn and possibly even affect your sim’s moods.
Get Famous Lot Traits
Hottest Spot in Town
“A place for the Superstars, the VIPs, those who’ve achieved victory over the commonplace! After all, who else could afford these hyperinflated lot prices? Not you… no. But at least, the Starlight Accolades can only happen on Lounges with this trait.”
The hottest spot in town lot trait makes it so that all food and drink is priced double so it’s a bit expensive for the average sim. If you give this trait to a restaurant there will even be a fee just for your sims to get a table. Also, this is the only type of lot where the starlight accolades can take place.
Up-and-Coming Hot Spot
“At least your sims can say they ‘went here before it was cool’ Also, cheap drinks and eats for the super famous. Even better, meet a celebrity events can only happen on Lounges with this trait.”
The up-and-coming hot spot lot trait is a great one for community lots and makes it so your celebrity sims can get discounts on any food or drinks they buy. If you want to host a meet and great with your fans you must do it at a place with this trait.
Celebrity Home
“This residence is listed on the Celebrity Home Tours granting increased fame gain, restricted access, and awe amongst welcomed visitors. Beware though! Those who live here but aren’t actually famous will be considered posers.
The celebrity home lot trait is a awesome if you’ve managed to gain lots of fame in the game so less sims will appear at your front door ready to take photos of you since there is restricted access, however, you will get negative moodlets if you aren’t famous and live here.
Final Thoughts
Adding sims 4 lot traits to your households is one of my favourite ways to make sure a home in the game is more unique and can really help your sim’s abilities to gain skills or add some unique interactions that your sims can have. What are your favourite lot traits? Let me know in the comments!
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