who is responsible for repainting? (agreement, renters, deposit, house)
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I agree that if the walls were only dirty, that is normal wear and tear. If dirty means "smeared with boogers" or "covered in crayon artwork" or "big dark footprints on the walls where the kids beat their shoes" as some parents seem to think is normal, that is a different issue.
If the house wasn't freshly painted when you moved in, you lived there 2 years, and she was planning to paint anyway, we wouldn't charge you anything for the paint. We probably wouldn't paint at all. We would just clean the walls and do touch up. If she is trying to freshen it up to sell, that is her choice.
(2) keep the dwelling unit and that part of the premises that he uses reasonably safe and reasonably clean;
Reasonably clean is subjective.....its comparable to an LL deducting for cleaning...when the tenants didn't do what an LL felt was acceptable for re-rental.
Some paints are easily washable, others aren't, if an LL is expecting the walls to remain clean they need to use a better quality paint bc theres a big difference.
But I believe the LL is deducting unfairly bc they're selling and trying to avoid their obligation.
OP can write a letter objecting to the charge outlining the LL/T laws for state showing the reason for the objection and wait for a response from the Landlord...(mailed certified with a copy for your records).
If you can't come to suitable agreement... you have the option of small claims...but without move-out photos...you have no proof, but what you do have in your favor is the prior tenant was there for 2 yrs and the LL did not repaint. IMO small claims gives you a good chance of partial if not total recovery.
I have a question about an addendum. I signed one agreeing to have charges deducted from my security deposit, however, the landlord is charging for wear and tear. They are charging me for painting where I patched holes, for cleaning the carpet, and for cleaning the apt. There was some water damage to the carpet that caused stains where my furniture was. Also, I'm being charged for cleaning the apt. when it was already clean and never told me they were charging me for it. Doesn't the law override the lease addendum?
I have a question about an addendum. I signed one agreeing to have charges deducted from my security deposit, however, the landlord is charging for wear and tear. They are charging me for painting where I patched holes, for cleaning the carpet, and for cleaning the apt. There was some water damage to the carpet that caused stains where my furniture was. Also, I'm being charged for cleaning the apt. when it was already clean and never told me they were charging me for it. Doesn't the law override the lease addendum?
You have to be a bit more specific on some of these items.
Painting over patched holes is tricky. It is wear and tear if the holes are small like a nail hole and/or the room needed repainting just from age. But, it is damages if the patched result in a visible differences in paint (that's why nail holes may be best left unpatched if the law considers them wear and tear) or they are more than just nail holes. So exactly what type of patched holes are we talking about?
If you caused the water stains to the carpet, that is almost always considered damages. Some states exclude minor staining if the kitchen is carpeted, or at the front entry door, but water stains as a general rule are damages. So what is the degree of this staining?
As for cleaning, your state laws and/or court rulings may provide some guidance. We need to know the state. Also, your interpretation of cleaning may not be the same as what the law or your landlord considers clean. It should be in the same condition of cleanliness as when you accepted occupancy.
State law does supersede any addendum but only if the law is properly interpreted and actually does cover the issues.
I have a question about an addendum. I signed one agreeing to have charges deducted from my security deposit, however, the landlord is charging for wear and tear. They are charging me for painting where I patched holes, for cleaning the carpet, and for cleaning the apt. There was some water damage to the carpet that caused stains where my furniture was. Also, I'm being charged for cleaning the apt. when it was already clean and never told me they were charging me for it. Doesn't the law override the lease addendum?
I've been both a landlord and a tenant, and on general principle, I don't disagree with any of those charges as you've described them here.
Most tenants do not patch holes correctly, and leave a large shiny spot on the wall that doesn't match, instead of a nail sized tiny patch.
We have right in our lease that tenants are to have carpets professionally cleaned at move out, or we do it and deduct, and this is not an uncommon clause.
And it is very rare that a tenant gets the place as clean as we give it to them, although everyone thinks that they do. In 14 years and over 160 houses/duplexes, I've had maybe 10 turnovers where we didn't have to go in and clean more. Most only need another hour or two, but I've had tenants tell me the house was professionally cleaned, and we had to clean for 10-12 more hours. $100 of additional cleaning is probably about the average in my experience.
I'm not sure how water damage to the carpet would ever not be considered damage, unless there was a broken pipe and the landlord knew about it and opted to not change out the carpet at the time of the insurance claim, or something.
So I would not call any of those items normal wear and tear.
A landlord charge me for paint if I lived there for 2 years there is no photographs of any type of damages to the apartment. And can a landlord charge me to clean the carpet when they agreed they were going to take the carpet out and replace it anyways
I have rented a lot of places, never ever was expected to paint as that is what they are supposed to do for the next tenant.
But if it's a big pain, I would not do it and just let the amount be deducted from my returned deposit. No fuss, no muss.
A landlord charge me for paint if I lived there for 2 years there is no photographs of any type of damages to the apartment. And can a landlord charge me to clean the carpet when they agreed they were going to take the carpet out and replace it anyways
That is very vague. You aren't disputing here that you did damage. All you've said here is that they didn't give you proof. So was there wall damage or not? If so, yes, they can charge you to repaint the damaged areas, sometimes even whole rooms. If they just were painting because it was time to paint, they can't charge for that.
And I don't charge tenants to clean carpet if I am replacing it anyway. But sometimes we try to clean it and it just won't come clean, so we end up replacing it, in which case, I do charge the tenants. Usually in those cases, the carpet is damaged by the tenant, and they end up paying a carpet cleaning bill PLUS prorated replacement costs if the carpet was less than 7 years old. But your question was whether they can charge. If they paid for carpet cleaning, they can most likely charge. But if they didn't do the work, they most likely cannot charge. Every state has very different laws when it comes to rental security deposits.
In most cases when a landlord is claiming thousands for painting and coincidentally this is about the amount of your security deposit then this is usually landlord fraud. The landlord is simply looking for excuses to justify legally not returning your security deposit. Sure, there could be legitimate damage (and the LLs here will reply and stress this) however usually that damage is very apparent already.
The other type is legitimate damage but where the LL inflates the cost of repair and "does it themselves". For example a nail hole through "landlord accounting" turns into a $750 repair. First you have $300 for labor, $200 for the paint and $250 for the plaster. In reality the landlord takes some old paint and plaster they have in their closet and slap it on within about 30 minutes. Then they come on forums like this one and try to justify it while claiming to be the victim.
"Since it was impossible to find the same paint we had to repaint the entire unit!"
"We found the same paint but due to years of the sun shining and fading the old paint, we decided that the whole unit must be repainted (at the tenant's expense out of their security deposit) due to this one nail hole. Otherwise it would not match exactly and would probably fetch $500 less a month in rent!!"
The walls were not damaged in any way, but she claims they are dirty. Well, I have 3 kids, so there are some spots. The house was not freshly painted when I moved in. I also know she was planning to paint after we moved out anyway because the house is now for sale.
How do I determine the value of paint that is 4 years old?
IMO without seeing it, but you stated the walls were dirty it may be chargeable as dirt is not wear and tear
Did you take pics of the property before and after move in/move out
Quote:
Originally Posted by paradigmfl
In most cases when a landlord is claiming thousands for painting and coincidentally this is about the amount of your security deposit then this is usually landlord fraud. The landlord is simply looking for excuses to justify legally not returning your security deposit. Sure, there could be legitimate damage (and the LLs here will reply and stress this) however usually that damage is very apparent already.
The other type is legitimate damage but where the LL inflates the cost of repair and "does it themselves". For example a nail hole through "landlord accounting" turns into a $750 repair. First you have $300 for labor, $200 for the paint and $250 for the plaster. In reality the landlord takes some old paint and plaster they have in their closet and slap it on within about 30 minutes. Then they come on forums like this one and try to justify it while claiming to be the victim.
Actually you can go to court over that. You cannot charge any rate you want. It has to be a reasonable rate. A reasonable rate is a going rate in the area. A court would hammer that charge down.
For example I charge $25 a hour if I have to do something. I rarely do simply because I don't want any tenant to say anything so I get a handyman or tradesman. They charge what they charge I take it out of the deposit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by southcarolinaonmymind
The walls were not damaged in any way, but she claims they are dirty. Well, I have 3 kids, so there are some spots. The house was not freshly painted when I moved in. I also know she was planning to paint after we moved out anyway because the house is now for sale.
How do I determine the value of paint that is 4 years old?
IMO without seeing it I wouldn't consider that chargeable if there is no damage.
Did you take pics of the property before and after move in/move out
Quote:
Originally Posted by paradigmfl
In most cases when a landlord is claiming thousands for painting and coincidentally this is about the amount of your security deposit then this is usually landlord fraud. The landlord is simply looking for excuses to justify legally not returning your security deposit. Sure, there could be legitimate damage (and the LLs here will reply and stress this) however usually that damage is very apparent already.
The other type is legitimate damage but where the LL inflates the cost of repair and "does it themselves". For example a nail hole through "landlord accounting" turns into a $750 repair. First you have $300 for labor, $200 for the paint and $250 for the plaster. In reality the landlord takes some old paint and plaster they have in their closet and slap it on within about 30 minutes. Then they come on forums like this one and try to justify it while claiming to be the victim.
Actually you can go to court over that. You cannot charge any rate you want. It has to be a reasonable rate. A reasonable rate is a going rate in the area. A court would hammer that charge down.
For example I charge $25 a hour if I have to do something. I rarely do simply because I don't want any tenant to say anything so I get a handyman or tradesman. They charge what they charge I take it out of the deposit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tonydoublet
A landlord charge me for paint if I lived there for 2 years there is no photographs of any type of damages to the apartment. And can a landlord charge me to clean the carpet when they agreed they were going to take the carpet out and replace it anyways
If you caused damage sure it's chargeable. They can charge for carpet cleaning if you dirtied the carpet. Even if they say they will replace it that's a option. Unless you have it in writing that they will not charge or hold you responsible for carpet damage they don't have to follow through.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marachino
I have rented a lot of places, never ever was expected to paint as that is what they are supposed to do for the next tenant.
But if it's a big pain, I would not do it and just let the amount be deducted from my returned deposit. No fuss, no muss.
There is no law stating you must paint after every tenant vacates. As long as the next tenant accepts the property as is its fine. The LL is not supposed to charge the new tenant for existing damage.
Last edited by Electrician4you; 09-02-2016 at 06:12 PM..
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