Tenant drilled holes in internal walls

JesusRef

Hi - a tenant that is living in my property has drilled a lot of holes in My internal walls without my permission - handing shelves speakers etc - I know not a huge deal but the lease is up soon am I entitled to get him to fix the walls or pay for the repair? How would I word this to him?

P. Breathnach

Of course you are entitled to get the property back in much the same condition as it was when you let it out (subject to fair wear & tear).

I'd tell him in writing (paper or email) that you want the holes repaired to a proper standard (not that difficult or expensive) and the walls repainted so that the repairs don't show (a bit more trouble and expense).

If he doesn't want to do it, you can get it done by a professional decorator and make an appropriate deduction from his deposit.

MarkAnthony

Jesus(Ref) thanks for letting use that pun.

It's not ideal but really? A bit of polyfilla and a touch up, if the tenant has been a good tenant otherwise I'd just do it myself and save myself the hassle.

Why did you not discuss this during your inspections?

garhjw

filling the holes is the easy bit but if they aren't properly re-painted it looks terrible so i would want it properly recitifed

the_pen_turner

how many holes are we talking about.


surely you are going to be painting anyway when he leaves.
get him to fill them and leave the painting as a gesture because he was such a good tenant

The_Conductor

the_pen_turner wrote: »

surely you are going to be painting anyway when he leaves.
get him to fill them and leave the painting as a gesture because he was such a good tenant

It depends entirely on how long the tenant has been in the property- if it was for a shorter period of time (say 1-3 years)- it is not reasonable to expect to have to repaint the property (anything longer- it might be reasonable).

One way or the other- it was clearly out of order that the tenant thought it fair and reasonable to drill holes in the walls..........

The landlord is entitled to have the property back in the condition in which it was let to the tenant- save normal wear and tear- which most certainly does not include making good a tenant's DIY efforts.

If the tenant does not return the property in a reasonable standard to the landlord- the landlord is within their rights to get the damage repaired property and to deduct the cost from the deposit (if they do the repair themselves- they are not entitled to charge for their own labour).

OP- just how many holes are you talking about?

handlemaster

the_pen_turner wrote: »

how many holes are we talking about.


surely you are going to be painting anyway when he leaves.
get him to fill them and leave the painting as a gesture because he was such a good tenant

Putting holes in walls now comes under been a good tenant !!!!

the_pen_turner

handlemaster wrote: »

Putting holes in walls now comes under been a good tenant !!!!

obviously not.
I meant that if the tenant fixed the holes that the landlord would paint them if they were painting anyway. so a gesture of paint wouldn't cost anything but might soften the tension with the tenant over it

Caliden

the_pen_turner wrote: »

obviously not.
I meant that if the tenant fixed the holes that the landlord would paint them if they were painting anyway. so a gesture of paint wouldn't cost anything but might soften the tension with the tenant over it

If there were no holes it may not be required to repaint.

A tenant should restore the property to the condition it was when they moved in (excluded wear and tear). Holes in the walls don't count as wear and tear.

T-Maxx

If it's not OTT I'd be inclined to just leave it. Functional and saves the next tenant the hassle.

seamus

The problem with the Irish rental market summed up in one post. "My tenant had the tenacity to make his home more comfortable and homely, how do I tell him he's out of order".

Not getting at you specifically OP, it's just an issue in general.

Do an inspection, make a list of all of the holes he's drilled or items he's hung and send it to him as a list of repairs he needs to carry out before he leaves. That's assuming he's going to remove them and not leave them there. If he's hung shelves and is going to leave them, I don't see the problem.

When you're next painting it, paint the entire place top to bottom in a cheap off-white paint. On your future rental agreement tell your tenants that they can do whatever the hell they want, but upon leaving they have to repair all drilled holes and repaint any walls changed or damaged in "Dulux white no. 3" or whatever.

Speedwell

When I rented in America, it was standard for landlords to paint between tenants. But I was careful to always fix holes anyway. Gee, I'm good at fixing holes in drywall. And I married the son of a plasterer, so covered there too, heh.

handlemaster

seamus wrote: »

The problem with the Irish rental market summed up in one post. "My tenant had the tenacity to make his home more comfortable and homely, how do I tell him he's out of order".

Not getting at you specifically OP, it's just an issue in general.

Do an inspection, make a list of all of the holes he's drilled or items he's hung and send it to him as a list of repairs he needs to carry out before he leaves. That's assuming he's going to remove them and not leave them there. If he's hung shelves and is going to leave them, I don't see the problem.

When you're next painting it, paint the entire place top to bottom in a cheap off-white paint. On your future rental agreement tell your tenants that they can do whatever the hell they want, but upon leaving they have to repair all drilled holes and repaint any walls changed or damaged in "Dulux white no. 3" or whatever.

Where are you pulling the quotation in the first paragraph from ?

JesusRef

If it was a good tenant I would fix it myself - not inclined to give favours in this instance.

A good few holes, homemade shelving gone up in ridiculous places like the sitting room, wouldn't be an issue if I was asked.

Mentioned it to tenant but want to do so in writing too.

Not a huge deal as I said but wanted to make sure I dealt with it properly.

Thanks for the advice

intheclouds

So putting up a shelf is damage to property now???

Its normal wear and tear. People hang things on walls. Its hardly the end of the world, just a few screw holes.

intheclouds

intheclouds wrote: »

So putting up a shelf is damage to property now???

Its normal wear and tear. People hang things on walls. Its hardly the end of the world, just a few screw holes.

Drilling a holes in the wall of someone else's property is damage and definitely not wear and tear. The tenant should fix it or have the cost deducted from his deposit.

intheclouds

Aaron Salmon Newsboy wrote: »

Drilling a holes in the wall of someone else's property is damage and definitely not wear and tear. The tenant should fix it or have the cost deducted from his deposit.

Maybe the landlord should have provided shelving?

How do you expect people to live, with bare blank walls?

jam_mac_jam

Just fill the holes. Its very easy and does not take long. Walls will need to be painted at some stage as well so its not really a big deal, especially if they are a good tenant.

jam_mac_jam

Aaron Salmon Newsboy wrote: »

Drilling a holes in the wall of someone else's property is damage and definitely not wear and tear. The tenant should fix it or have the cost deducted from his deposit.

Its a few shelves, hardly damage.

Santan

the house i rented had an old alarm that did not work, asked the rental agent if I could install a new one that had sensors in 3 rooms due to attempted robbery, so I was told no problem, my mistake was not to have it in writing. After 4 years renting the property, I moved and taking the alarm with me, but the company could only remove the alarm on the day I had to hand the keys back. On that day the agent came and viewed the house, I had got in professional cleaners to do the entire place, and a gardener to just tidy up what I could not due to stuck in work covering shifts, I explained to him that I was not able to fill in the holes but he agreed that the interior of the house would need repainting anyway and the painter would just fill in the holes, so it was not a problem. One month later, went to collect my deposit and discovered that I had been charged €660 by the owner for damage to the property from the holes, and him having to repaint all the walls. My mistake was not getting the agent to sign that I could install the alarm and that he agreed that the house was in good order upon leaving, will not make that mistake again.

H3llR4iser

JesusRef wrote: »

If it was a good tenant I would fix it myself - not inclined to give favours in this instance.

A good few holes, homemade shelving gone up in ridiculous places like the sitting room, wouldn't be an issue if I was asked.

Mentioned it to tenant but want to do so in writing too.

Not a huge deal as I said but wanted to make sure I dealt with it properly.

Thanks for the advice

I have put shelves up in two apartments I rented. Asked the agent/landlord, specified I'd leave everything in place upon leaving for the next tenant or the landlord himself to enjoy, installed quality, tasteful (and expensive) shelves of the same type or at least matching the furniture in the room and got on with it no problem. Also, we're talking about shelves to host books, decorative objects and the likes, not a storage compartment for groceries or cleaning products...

I'm curious to know what do you mean by "homemade shelving" - did they literally stick wood planks to the walls? I know some people don't exactly mind the looks of things :eek:

May I hazard a guess that the tenant is non-Irish? It seems to be a common point of attrition between Irish homes with their barren walls and continental European tenants used to have at least a couple of shelves in each room.

H3llR4iser

Weepsie wrote: »

That's just out of order. I've heard more bad stories about Irish tenants than foreign ones, and this attitude stinks. Maybe it's your own personal experience.

Anyway onto the original point, when renting current place it said no things on walls. We've used 3M strips, and no more as they peel off with ease if done carefully. But I'd wish if landlords, particularly those who plan on painting when Tenants move out, would have some areas in which they allowed pictures, mirrors, etc to be hung. Even pre-placed hooks in areas.

It's not out of order at all - it's not meant as a derogatory statement, I ain't Irish myself!

The first thing that struck me about Irish homes, both the ones up for rental and some friends places I visited, is the fact that shelves aren't as common as in other places around Europe.

JesusRef

H3llR4iser wrote: »

I have put shelves up in two apartments I rented. Asked the agent/landlord, specified I'd leave everything in place upon leaving for the next tenant or the landlord himself to enjoy, installed quality, tasteful (and expensive) shelves of the same type or at least matching the furniture in the room and got on with it no problem. Also, we're talking about shelves to host books, decorative objects and the likes, not a storage compartment for groceries or cleaning products...

I'm curious to know what do you mean by "homemade shelving" - did they literally stick wood planks to the walls? I know some people don't exactly mind the looks of things :eek:

May I hazard a guess that the tenant is non-Irish? It seems to be a common point of attrition between Irish homes with their barren walls and continental European tenants used to have at least a couple of shelves in each room.

I am talking wood planks on walls... shelving is being generous, all its good for is a skip I couldn't leave it up there

Not going to comment on nationality of the tenant - I am the one who choose him.

All normal items - mirrors, clocks, paintings were already on the walls placed by me, even flat screen TV.

JesusRef

Right thanks for the replies, I will just ask him to repair the walls, no biggie, I just wanted to know of I was in my rights to do so.

Not like I would with hold the deposit or anything, if he doesn't fix I will just do it myself...

Mods feel free to close thread

Mrs OBumble

JesusRef wrote: »

A good few holes, homemade shelving gone up in ridiculous places like the sitting room

It's ridiculous to put shelves in the sitting room??? I guess tenants should just leave their books etc in the floor. :rolleyes:



Just put it in writing that the holes need to be filled and painted in a matching colour: I'll guarantee that it's magnolia you've got in there any that this won't be difficult. Unless it's some other colour that cannot be matched, then I don't see why the tenant should have to paint the entire wall.


And before your next tenant moves in - install some storage!