TV mount holes left by tenant - Do I deduct? (lease, inspections)
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There are 4 of such types of holes/TV mount set up throughout the property. It was where a TV was mounted on the wall, so it is not a small nail but almost the size of a golf ball.
They have been occupying this unit for 7+ years, and it has not been painted in that timeframe (aside from when the tenant first moved in).
Lease states that the property must be returned in the condition it was received. There were no holes prior in these areas. They also did not consult me to ask permission to make such a change, which was also stated in the lease.
Would you count this as normal wear & tear vs. damage? Especially given the time that it hasn’t been painted (7+ years)? How much would you charge?
Sure. That seems reasonable. In CA you could charge a rasonable fee for your labor and materials. As long as it's not crazy, your tenant probalby won't balk.
Sure, you can charge them but are you going to paint anyway? Were they good tenants for the 7 years and was this the only thing?
You're within your rights to deduct but I wouldn't if I had to paint anyway if that's the only 'damage'
They have been occupying this unit for 7+ years,
and it has not been painted in that time frame
Would you count this as normal wear & tear vs. damage?
With seven years in.. probably yes.
The larger lessons are about 1) YOU providing a suitable anchor point for TV's.
and 2) more frequent inspections than 7 years so you can see things like this sooner.
(Mount a $2 piece of plywood that will span the wall studs there and paint that)
We would charge for the repair of the holes, but not the paining as that would have been done regardless. However, I noticed there is a inwall wire gang located in lower left of the first picture. Was that installed by you or is it theirs?
That's undeniably damage, was the larger hole at the bottom already there? I'd charge for the drywall repair (probably around $250 from my painter) but not for the paint. Make sure your invoice specifically states drywall repair on it though.
No need to add anything more to the lease, that **** wasn't there when they moved in and they didn't return the unit to you in the same condition you received it in. However, if you do add anything to the lease I'd simply put, "Tenant is NOT permitted to install any wall mounted electronics." That should cover TVs/speakers any of that kind of thing.
That's undeniably damage, was the larger hole at the bottom already there? I'd charge for the drywall repair (probably around $250 from my painter) but not for the paint. Make sure your invoice specifically states drywall repair on it though.
No need to add anything more to the lease, that **** wasn't there when they moved in and they didn't return the unit to you in the same condition you received it in. However, if you do add anything to the lease I'd simply put, "Tenant is NOT permitted to install any wall mounted electronics." That should cover TVs/speakers any of that kind of thing.
Idk, I mean, I get it. But...that's kind of what probably at least half or more of people do with their TVs these days. I wouldn't balk at you trying to charge for it (although I'd certainly fix it myself), but I would balk at you trying to prohibit it at lease signing.
I had a property manager ding me a flat $5 per hole for all pictures, hangers, etc.... throught the house I leased for 4 years once. There was a lot of them. I was a good tenant that took care of things, never late on rent, and didnt try to nickel and dime little issues over my lease times.
And the place was not freshly painted when I moved in.
I didnt dispute it.
The larger hole in your photos look like the tenant ran cabling into the wall.
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