Painting a rented property

Sirsok

Upon leaving a property who is obligated to pay for the paint job the house may need after? We are currently in a situation where the landlord is trying to take a substantial amount of our deposit due to painting, the floor varnished and a possible new mattress. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Can you also be charged for a replaced bedroom door? Also if the landlord does not have a energy rating form do we have any recourse due to this? Any help would be appreciated thanks.

fro9etb8j5qsl2

How long is it since the place was painted/floor varnished? If it has been more than 2 or 3 years then it would be put down to normal wear and tear of the property and so should not be taken out of the deposit. If you have damaged the bathroom door but have replaced it yourself with one of equal or greater value then this also should not be deducted.

fussyonion

Unless you have absolutely destroyed the internal walls (graffiti etc) and assuming it's just normal wear and tear, it's not your responsibility to have the paintwork done.
The Landlord should be painting it in between long-term tenants and he has no right to make you pay for it.
He wants you to pay for a new mattress? Why?
If you damaged the bedroom door then that is your responsibility to have it repaired/replaced.

ivy66

Hi,
Im in similar situation. The landlady came and inspected the place and wanted to give me a check but because i was travelling out of the country we agreed she'll pay into my account and took my no. ive been trying to get them for a month as ive not seen anything in my account only for landlord to tell me that he spent 1300 fixing the house eg carpet replacement, making new curtains etc. now ive been in the house for almost 6yrs with no maintenance apart from when ive called him to fix things (which he has always done) after arguing over the phone he tells me to leave it with I'm so we could reach a compromise. what do i do? Ive always paid on time and i even fixed some things on my own. what do I do? I'm now living out of the country and i think he capitalizing on that. Pls advice?

djimi

Firstly raise a case with the PRTB today; its a long process so may as well start it now.

Second, you are entitled to evidence (receipts, invoices etc) to justify the cost of all deductions. Request all of these.

Did you take any pictures of the property prior to your moving out? Has the landlord suggested that they have any evidence to back up their claims of the need to repairs etc? This could be important if it comes down to a hearing.

Pawwed Rig

Sirsok wrote: »

Upon leaving a property who is obligated to pay for the paint job the house may need after? We are currently in a situation where the landlord is trying to take a substantial amount of our deposit due to painting, the floor varnished and a possible new mattress. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Can you also be charged for a replaced bedroom door? Also if the landlord does not have a energy rating form do we have any recourse due to this? Any help would be appreciated thanks.

As others have said if it is normal wear and tear then you shouldn't have to pay for it. However, if there are scratches on the floor, damage to walls and doors due to excessive abuse and your negligence then you should pay. The length of time you have been in the property is relevant as if the house was freshly painted and floored 1 year ago when you moved in and already needs to be done again then I would consider that excessive and therefore your problem. On the other hand if you are there 4-5 years and the place just needs freshening up then I would consider it normal and the LL covers it.
What has an energy rating form got to do with the whole situation??

Santa Cruz

Painting should come under normal wear and tear unless, as one poster has posted, you have damaged it by graffiti or blatant misuse e.g. dragging bicycles through the property and staining the wall with grease.
Again unless the door handle was deliberately damaged same should apply.

The mattress. How long is it in use? Normal wear and tear.
The landlord is claiming a tax allowance for this type of situation. I thin k he is chancing his arm here.

ivy66

@djimi : thxs for your reply. Yes i took pics before i left the house (thank God). He claimed he's done the repairs and referred me to home.ie for me to see how the house looks like which in my opinion doesn't count. Most of what he changed eg fridge, etc have been in the house for more than 5yrs.
Ill contact the PRTB asap. Thank you.

yoloc

My girlfriend has been renting a property for 11-12 years now of same landlord, shes put 1000s of her own money into the house with new carpets,wooden floors, painting it every year or 2, building her own fences, power hosing the outside and even cutting the grass every few weeks. These last 2 years thou she hasnt done anything because of money problems and shes been thinking of moving out for a cheaper house but shes been worried that the landlord will take money out of her deposit to repaint the house etc.. . Ive been telling her that he wouldnt have a leg to stand on but shes not to sure. Anyone know what the outcome of this situation would be

Pawwed Rig

If he hasn't painted it in 12 years he wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

Most LL's and tenants are reasonable people. Unless she has reason to think he is gonna rip her off he probably won't.

OMD

ivy66 wrote: »

Hi,
Im in similar situation. The landlady came and inspected the place and wanted to give me a check but because i was travelling out of the country we agreed she'll pay into my account and took my no. ive been trying to get them for a month as ive not seen anything in my account only for landlord to tell me that he spent 1300 fixing the house eg carpet replacement, making new curtains etc. now ive been in the house for almost 6yrs with no maintenance apart from when ive called him to fix things (which he has always done) after arguing over the phone he tells me to leave it with I'm so we could reach a compromise. what do i do? Ive always paid on time and i even fixed some things on my own. what do I do? I'm now living out of the country and i think he capitalizing on that. Pls advice?

One of the problems here is some landlords think they can charge the tenant for whatever new is bought for house. This is not the case even if you break it. You have to pay for the cost of the item you broke. So, a landlord writes off the cost of an item over 6 years. Therefore after 6 years the item is worthless. You cannot be charged the cost of new curtains to replace a 6 year old worthless ones.

OMD

yoloc wrote: »

My girlfriend has been renting a property for 11-12 years now of same landlord, shes put 1000s of her own money into the house with new carpets,wooden floors, painting it every year or 2, building her own fences, power hosing the outside and even cutting the grass every few weeks. These last 2 years thou she hasnt done anything because of money problems and shes been thinking of moving out for a cheaper house but shes been worried that the landlord will take money out of her deposit to repaint the house etc.. . Ive been telling her that he wouldnt have a leg to stand on but shes not to sure. Anyone know what the outcome of this situation would be

Shouldn't have a leg to stand on but it may depend on the quality of the work your girlfriend did. If it was rubbish or some horrible colour that would effect the potential rent (painted the bedrooms black for example) it may be reasonable for the landlord to charge to return the house to a rentable standard.

yoloc

OMD wrote: »

Shouldn't have a leg to stand on but it may depend on the quality of the work your girlfriend did. If it was rubbish or some horrible colour that would effect the potential rent (painted the bedrooms black for example) it may be reasonable for the landlord to charge to return the house to a rentable standard.

She made the house look a very boring rented property to a lovely family home, landlords words when he seen it a few times.

ivy66

guys update on my situation:
LL has emailed me the expenses (scanned) and he listed loads of stuff but in his words "spirit of fairness and not wanting to end on a bad note" will return 180 out of 800 and keep 620 for repair of wall from dampness from bathroom. The invoice was typed up doc and not an actual receipt of 450 which was different to the others. this bathroom in question is a bath tub which i put a shower curtain to prevent water from spilling over to wet the floor and the walls which were half tiled. His argument is a tub is for sitting in and not shower. so i should not have put up the curtains however it was the water that caused the damp. ive decided to dispute the expenses. anything else i should know abt? Basically he's still keeping one months rent and paying the extra rent which was reduced when rent fell.

djimi

A bathtub should be able to take the weight of someone standing. If it cant, then its almost certainly not fit for purpose.

crackcrack30

I'd be pissed off and probably take it further......but would settle with him for a more reasonable amount.....c500e .....something happened to cause the damage and probably wouldn't come under the terms of 'wear and tear'........how long were u there??

From your initial post re curtins ect. it sounds like he's trying it on....

p.s i'm no expert on these matters.....

ivy66

I've lived there for 5 yrs.

ivy66

the house has cracks caused by harsh winter and summer over the years. its one of those estates that were built in a hurry. i remember calling my neighbour who used to be a builder who told me that his house had the same problem when i showed him the ceiling. this is what he's claiming is damp from the bathroom to the kitchen.