Can I paint my rent stabilized apaartment with my own color? (Ridge: apartments, leases)
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My rent stabilized apartment has a new managing agent, Rose Associates. They say I cannot have their painters paint my walls with anything other than an ugly matte white, even if I pay for the paint.
1. Do I have the right to paint the walls myself? (a soft peach and a soft yellow)
2. If so, do I have to get permission first?
3. If I do not ask and do it anyway, can they force me to repaint it white?
4. Can they raise my rent or try to evict me if I paint it myself?
I just had the floors refinished at my expense and they made it very clear that just because they let me do that did not mean I could ever do anything else, even if I pay for it. Exactly what are the rules with respect to making the place look nicer at my own expense?
i don't know about NYC law or anything, but every where else, i've been told that if you paint the wall color you have to paint it back, or it'll come out of the security deposit.
If you are going to be living there for a while, I would (and have) painted my apartment the color I wanted. The worst they could do is not give your security back, or do what I did, when I moved buy cheap white paint and give it a coat once all your stuff is out.
I would not give a rats arse what they say, they are not living in my apartment and I will paint it what ever color I want.
period and end of it.
also, if you dont let them in, they wont know.
Don't be afraid, you will not go to jail. There is no paint police lurking around.
It is only another person from the managing agent trying to scare you. They are usually afraid people will paint dark colored walls such as red or black thus when they move it takes about 4 coats to cover it, that is why they do the no painting thing.
You can paint it any way you want and the accepted rule is that if you move out you are entitled to one coat of paint by the owner. If a second coat is required because your color choice was too bold, YOU will pay for it.
You can, like a couple friends of mine did, paint it back to "lanflord white" yourself, but you will find, as THEY did that adding an extra paint job to the nightmare of moving is not the wisest thing to do.
I moved into a new paint job (Navaho White by Benjamin Moore) and I'd like some color, but I'm going to enjoy the cleanliness of it a while until it gets dirty...it's pristine now.
But since I own the place, I'll be here quite a while and franly I don't trust my color choices.
There is no "accepted rule". There is ONLY the law, what is legally required.
No, there is no "one coat" entitlement under the law.
The worst that can be done is to be charged for the FULL value of repainting/restoration. If that value exceeds that of your security deposit, the tenant WILL be responsible!
In other words, the tenant is responsible and required, upon the termination of the tenancy, to restore the property to the same condition upon the commencement of the tenancy with regard to normal wear and tear.
Unless expressly forbidden by agreement you can paint the place black, red or what have you, but you MUST restore it back to white. If it takes 20 coats, the tenant is responsible for any costs over and above the security deposit, in addition to any other repairs/restoration not due to normal wear and tear.
One thing to consider when choosing whether to disregard your LL is whether the LL is an individul with a 3 story walkup in Bay Ridge or a professional management company with dozens or hundreds of apartments.
An individual may be more tolerant, whereas a management company may be less tolerant, and more intent upon managing 'their' costs; and have the people and and resources to enforce the law and their policies.
Living in a nice apartment, in a quality building, with first rate professional management, is a bit different than renting an apartment on the avenue from some 'Yo' in Bay Ridge.
It is not so simple as slapping paint upon the walls. Here are some things to consider:
Well our building is 32 families, I painted my apartment a dark color, the LL did come in one time to do repairs, he said, wow this is dark, but you know you have to paint it neutral when you move, or you don't get the security back.
So then a few years later I bought an apartment in the same building, and once all my stuff was moved upstairs I used off white for the walls, and ceiling white for the ceilings, and repainted the whole apartment, it was easy because I used the same color for the whole entire apt, and the apartment was empty. ( I am also an expert painter, so that does help)
The LL loved it, so he was a happy camper, I was happy I moved upstairs to a much larger apartment, got my security back and it was a win, win situation for all of us.
So not all LL's are sticklers, my LL owns 5 apratment buildings, all of which have well over 20 apartments each.
I appreciate your taking the time to reply twice (!!), and as much as your experience was not problematic, I need to do the letter-of-the-law thing, because that's how this management company operates, and they'll use every little thing they can to harass me, including taking me to court even thought they might not have an airtight case, just to get me out of there so they can get a market rate rent for my apartment.
It's easy to say don't let them in, but not practical, especially if I need them in there for something. I have to be very careful.
The lease governs what happens. None of my tenants are allowed to modify the apartment from the original way it was rented in. That includes painting. All my leases have signed photographs of the apartment by the tenant to confirm the condition it is in. If you want to paint, you must request it in writing and must use pastel colors. Not strong colors that take 5 coats to cover. I also do quarterly apartment inspection to confirm proper upkeep by the tenant.
The lease governs what happens. None of my tenants are allowed to modify the apartment from the original way it was rented in. That includes painting. All my leases have signed photographs of the apartment by the tenant to confirm the condition it is in. If you want to paint, you must request it in writing and must use pastel colors. Not strong colors that take 5 coats to cover. I also do quarterly apartment inspection to confirm proper upkeep by the tenant.
That's why I left NYC; the housing laws there are sometimes nonsensical, frequently unreasonable but always tilted in favor of landlords over tenant's rights.
Here in Cali it's the opposite. If you rent you can invariably paint the unit whichever color you like as long as you return it to the original condition upon leaving, all at your own expense of course. Any improvement you offer to make will probably be accepted with delight as long as it's tasteful, because it increases the value of the property and might allow the landlord to charge more from the following tenant.
And landlords here don't make a habit of routinely inspecting people's apartments without a valid reason. That only happens in NYC and other maximum security prisons.
8,000 dollars in damages by one of our tenants a few years ago because i didnt inspect annually is reason enough.
i was very lax about it and we eventually got rid of this tenant but wow what a mess.
most of it would have been prevented had we done those inspections.
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thank you for your reply
