Can you charge a tenant for painting

We instruct contractors to repaint whole walls rather than touch in marks as this often leaves obvious patches of new paint and can look much worse than the original damage. The apportionment of this cost between landlord and tenant is worked out based on the theory that a landlord is expected to repaint their property on average every 4 years. If the check-out report states that a wall has been marked during your tenancy, it is our job to then look at your original inventory and investigate when that wall was last repainted.

We can then work out how much should be apportioned to the tenants and to the landlord. In another scenario, the inventory could list the walls as having some marks present at the start of the tenancy and then the check-out report shows that there are additional marks to these at check-out.

Consequently, different walls in the same property may have been repainted at different points in time so varying charges could apply for the same damage from one wall to the next.

Please note that walls do not necessarily need to be repainted in order to apply the same apportionment of charges. Sometimes it is not necessary to replace whole items when damage has been caused, particularly if the damage is aesthetic and does not impact on its functionality.

For example, if a carpet has an iron burn mark, this has affected how the carpet looks but has not had too much impact on its function as a carpet for the immediate future. Apportionment charges are usually taken when items are not needed to be replaced, the money taken is to compensate the landlord for the loss of value and to go towards eventual replacement when needed.

Therefore, apportionment charges should be a portion of the cost of replacement which is dependent on the severity of damage, original condition, life expectancy and type of tenant. To charge the whole amount of replacing the item would be betterment for the landlord as they would be receiving something brand new that was not necessarily new in the first place. In the above example, it would be deemed unfair if a landlord changed the whole carpet because of this burn mark, therefore, to avoid betterment , the landlord would take an apportionment charge for the aesthetic damage that has been caused.

Dependent on the damage, there may be some instances where you could also be charged for the most economical cost of any necessary remedial works. For example, if the marks to the carpet were particularly bad in one area and they could not be covered easily with furniture, the landlord would be entitled to charge not only for the aesthetic damage caused to the carpet but they could also include the cost of a rug to cover the marks.

This would be deemed a fair charge as the landlord is not enjoying any betterment from this situation — they would be in a similar situation as before. Unfortunately, employing contractors to carry out repainting is much more expensive than buying a tin of paint and doing it yourselves.

Contractors have overheads to cover and need to charge for their labour to do the work on top of the cost of the materials. The walls often need to be treated before repainting especially when blu-tack has been used as the greasy residue needs to be cleaned off properly before paint can be applied, otherwise it will just seep back through the paint again. This process adds to the amount of time our contractors have to spend repainting.

When you've rented an apartment or home for a number of years, your painted walls and carpet will wear out eventually. If you are afraid to approach your landlord for new paint and carpet because you feel he will pass the cost onto you, learn about your rights as a tenant. According to California law, landlords can only charge tenants for carpet and paint under certain conditions.

Once you learn whether or not you, as a long-term tenant, will pay those costs, you can pursue the issue with your landlord. A tenant is not responsible for normal wear and tear to the walls and floor. Normal wear and tear is defined as moderate scuffs, marks, nicks, light stains or spotting. When the walls and carpet reflect damage beyond normal wear and tear, tenants become responsible because it is considered damage.

Examples of damage to walls includes holes that must be patched or a child coloring with a marker. Carpet damage examples include serious and large stains, rips or burns. After 10 years of living in a rental property, normal wear and tear combines with age to more than justify new paint and carpeting.

Spencer Knight on July 20, What Is a Security Deposit? Take Note of Your Living Space and Keep an Accurate Record The general rule is that a landlord can only use your damage deposit to cover actual damages to the property. Posted in: Personal , Real Estate Tagged in: damage deposit , landlord , lease agreement , real estate , rental agreement , rental inspection report , renting , security deposit , tenant.

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