Painting rented property

She Devil

Hey guys ... My boyfriend and i are in our apartment for a year now, the walls are all white and are getting dirty from the wear and tear of living, we have renewed our contract but it states that we can't paint. So what do we do? Can we ask our landlord?

athtrasna

An apartment shouldn't need to be painted as often as once a year, even white walls. Have you tried washing them with sugar soap?

SoupyNorman

You can ask the LL to paint it.

You could ask the LL if you can paint it yourselves.

Or the sugar soap/washing option isnt a bad on although I only ever use sugar soap in preparation to painting.

She Devil

Yeah i've washed them, but i'm washing the paint off, the paint seems to be like builders paint ...

mikemac

SoupyNorman wrote: »

Y
You could ask the LL if you can paint it yourselves.

And if it's down to normal wear and tear, the landlord will be paying for all this

TaxiManMartin

She Devil wrote: »

Hey guys ... My boyfriend and i are in our apartment for a year now, the walls are all white and are getting dirty from the wear and tear of living, we have renewed our contract but it states that we can't paint. So what do we do? Can we ask our landlord?

Only one year and you have dirtied the walls so much they need painting :eek:
If i went to my landlord with that he'd probably laugh at me. Thats not normal wear and tear.

I painted the living room in my parents house 3 years ago and they are still spotless white.

Victor

She Devil wrote: »

Yeah i've washed them, but i'm washing the paint off, the paint seems to be like builders paint ...

You mean its a water-based paint?

antoinolachtnai

Ask the landlord. But I'm sure he won't mind you painting, providing you use the same colour, a suitable paint and do the work carefully.

She Devil

LOL I am just a clean freak. I dont mind paying for the paint myself i was just wondering what the norm is.

athtrasna

IMO the normal is re-paint after 3-5 years depending on the tenants. Any more would be excessive.

mags10

Lots of people use matt emulsion (as per ceiling paint) as it's so handy to apply. I use it myself. Doesn't take washing though, so repainting once or twice a year would be needed to keep it fresh and clean. Ask your landlord. I'm sure they'd have no problem with you repainting it. They'll be happy you care about keeping the place nice. If they're not keen on letting you do it, they'll surely offer to do it themselves.

The_Conductor

Matt emulsion (water based paint) is the standard paint used in interior decorating. As per above- it is normal to repaint every 3-5 years- anything more than this is considered excessive (by the Revenue Commissioners). A landlord can offset the cost of redecoration against his tax liability from rental income- over a number of years- not all in a single year.

The norm for a tenant who wants to redecorate is they are free to do so, with the permission of their landlord- but they have to return the property in a similar condition to that in which it was given to them (colour scheme etc).

Talk to your landlord........

kmick

Just tell him her you are painitng it and then do it. If you are there for another 12 months he/she will never notice along as you do a very neat job i.e. paint covers, masking, neat cutting in etc.

I paint my kitchen every 6-9 months with white paint and its filthy 2 months later.