I think that permaculture as it relates to soil is doable both for renter/steward as it is for owners.
Soil = adding carbon/biochar/woodchip, adding soil-life/mushroom slurry/compost tea, rockdust/lime, swales
Vegetable/Herbs/Mushroom is also doable
Honey/Eggs/Poultry should also be very doable too, even goat and pens are doable.
Planting
fruit/nut trees around the perimeter of the property might be okay, fruiting vines on the
fence line should require much. The problem with nuts/fruit trees is that by the time they produce you might be gone, and the owner might not want something as permanent at nuts and fruit tree
There is also permaculture in the context of
food preservation/perpetration, that you can do anywhere even in a tiny studio in the heart of a
city.
Permaculture in regard to solar-electric, greenroof, earth
berm house,
solar hot water, basically any zone0 house system, is probably going to be a much harder
sell. and the cost involved will be
alot higher than just $5,000 to plant 200 trees per acre of food forest.