Painting rented apartment

Foweva Awone · 03-12-2020 9:55am #1

Just wondering whether painting my rented apartment is my responsibility or the landlord's? And how often should it be done?

I'm renting through HAP, if that makes a difference.

BrokenArrows · 03-12-2020 10:35am

Foweva Awone wrote: »

Just wondering whether painting my rented apartment is my responsibility or the landlord's? And how often should it be done?

I'm renting through HAP, if that makes a difference.

It's the landlords responsibility.
How often depends on its condition.

If you really want to paint it and the landlord won't then you could offer to paint it.

brisan · 03-12-2020 1:22pm

The landlord is legally responsible
Every 3-4 years depending on the condition of the property would be normal
Some landlords don’t like the expense and try and hold off until there is a change of tenant

JimmyVik · 03-12-2020 1:31pm

We just painted my parents house. Hadnt painted it in about 10 years and its only the last year the paint started looking old.

Id say 5 years between painting should be expected at the least, unless you just get sick of the colour.

Claw Hammer · 03-12-2020 2:36pm

Get the council in to inspect the apartment. They will give the landlord a list of things to do, including painting.

Pkiernan · 03-12-2020 7:54pm

Claw Hammer wrote: »

Get the council in to inspect the apartment. They will give the landlord a list of things to do, including painting.

Unless there's mould dripping off the walls, you dont get the Council in to check on the paint.

What do you think the council do exactly?

Gumbo · 03-12-2020 9:47pm

Claw Hammer wrote: »

Get the council in to inspect the apartment. They will give the landlord a list of things to do, including painting.

No they won’t.

Foweva Awone · 03-12-2020 10:02pm

Claw Hammer wrote: »

Get the council in to inspect the apartment. They will give the landlord a list of things to do, including painting.

I wouldn't go opening that can of worms!! The apartment is absolutely grand in general, and anyways I prefer to take care of most things myself anyways when I can rather than bothering the landlord.

brisan · 03-12-2020 10:07pm

Foweva Awone wrote: »

I wouldn't go opening that can of worms!! The apartment is absolutely grand in general, and anyways I prefer to take care of most things myself anyways when I can rather than bothering the landlord.

Ask him to pay for the paint and materials at least
Throw in the price of a few pints for yourself
Make sure you let him know the cost and get agreement before you start
Any decent landlord would be happy to do this as it saves him time, hassle and money

peter4918 · 03-12-2020 10:10pm

brisan wrote: »

Ask him to pay for the paint and materials at least
Throw in the price of a few pints for yourself
Make sure you let him know the cost and get agreement before you start
Any decent landlord would be happy to do this as it saves him time, hassle and money

This.

I’ve lived in a few places and the landlords have been more than happy to pay for paint, brushes etc once you do it yourself

Mrs OBumble · 03-12-2020 11:43pm

brisan wrote: »

The landlord is legally responsible
Every 3-4 years depending on the condition of the property would be normal

What on earth would someone be doing to internal walls which causes them to need to be painted every 3-4 years? Genuinely curious - I'm looking around the place I've been in for over 10 years and cannot see any need for paint!

Foweva Awone · 03-12-2020 11:45pm

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

What on earth would someone be doing to internal walls which causes them to need to be painted every 3-4 years? Genuinely curious - I'm looking around the place I've been in for over 10 years and cannot see any need for paint!

I would say kids are the main source of knocks and scuff marks, that's the case in my place anyways!!

Pasteur. · 04-12-2020 12:02am

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

What on earth would someone be doing to internal walls which causes them to need to be painted every 3-4 years? Genuinely curious - I'm looking around the place I've been in for over 10 years and cannot see any need for paint!

That's your place

Most places need redoing after a few years

brisan · 04-12-2020 9:05am

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

What on earth would someone be doing to internal walls which causes them to need to be painted every 3-4 years? Genuinely curious - I'm looking around the place I've been in for over 10 years and cannot see any need for paint!

All depends on what standards you are happy with
I would not leave any room unpainted for more than 4 years
Once you paint one room it will show up how faded the other rooms are

celtic_oz · 04-12-2020 9:52am

Offer to paint it if he buys the paint

Claw Hammer · 04-12-2020 1:07pm

Pkiernan wrote: »

Unless there's mould dripping off the walls, you dont get the Council in to check on the paint.

What do you think the council do exactly?

The environmental inspector checks compliance with the Housing standards regulations. They are very picky.

beauf · 04-12-2020 5:27pm

Depends on wear and tear and what's reasonable. If you have a room thats not used that much you are not going to paint it every few years. If someone destroys the walls of a place in 6 months, that doesn't they get it painted every 6 months.

Tenants often offer to do DIY work like painting themselves, often for a reduction in rent. The risk with this, is they do a sub standard job, and horrific colors and even damage the place. So a lot will avoid this complication. Just get professionals in.

In some countries the tenant gets a place new painted but is expect to give it back in the same condition. So the tenant is responsible for painting. But it seems this is also changing.

https://www.thelocal.de/20180822/tenants-dont-have-to-make-cosmetic-repairs-to-their-unrenovated-apartments

There is a point at which spending money on things like painting too often, just sucks out any return on the property. So there's a balance to be struck.

dev_ire · 04-12-2020 5:36pm

That is fair, it was not re-painted on entry so means no re-painted on exit.

beauf · 04-12-2020 5:48pm

Sounds like some crossed wires between agreed practise and some non standard arrangement. All sounds a bit daft.

Anyway the point was only there a number of ways to do it and there might be less ambiguity if done by professionals. Otherwise it can get convulted.

brisan · 04-12-2020 5:52pm

beauf wrote: »

Sounds like some crossed wires between agreed practise and some non standard arrangement. All sounds a bit daft.

Anyway the point was only there a number of ways to do it and there might be less ambiguity if done by professionals. Otherwise it can get convulted.

If a landlord is offered a choice of professionals doing it for 2 k or the tenant doing it for 500 euro what do you think he will choose

JimmyVik · 04-12-2020 6:12pm

brisan wrote: »

If a landlord is offered a choice of professionals doing it for 2 k or the tenant doing it for 500 euro what do you think he will choose

Ive some friends who are landlords and we have had this discussion in the past. None of them will let a tenant paint ever again. a couple of them did that in the past and it ended up costing them even more at the end of the day to undo the damage.

Pkiernan · 04-12-2020 7:04pm

Claw Hammer wrote: »

The environmental inspector checks compliance with the Housing standards regulations. They are very picky.

Yes but they dont demand regular repainting.
Your advice is inaccurate.

beauf · 04-12-2020 8:03pm

brisan wrote: »

If a landlord is offered a choice of professionals doing it for 2 k or the tenant doing it for 500 euro what do you think he will choose

There's a difference in knowing the value of something and the cost of it.

Graham · 04-12-2020 9:49pm

brisan wrote: »

If a landlord is offered a choice of professionals doing it for 2 k or the tenant doing it for 500 euro what do you think he will choose

It would depend on the landlord and the property.

You're making the mistake of assuming every rental is a dive-rental and every landlord is prepared to sacrifice quality for a decent finish.

Mrs OBumble · 04-12-2020 11:19pm

brisan wrote: »

All depends on what standards you are happy with
I would not leave any room unpainted for more than 4 years
Once you paint one room it will show up how faded the other rooms are

Magnolia fades?

Claw Hammer · 05-12-2020 1:52pm

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Magnolia fades?

It oxidises.

Caranica · 05-12-2020 2:07pm

I only painted my apartment this summer for the first time in 16 years. It was fine but I wanted the place to feel like mine after my marriage breakup a while ago. I also wanted to get rid of the magnolia. One of the painters told me that every 5 years is kinda standard and it's doors and woodwork that tend to show fading/yellowing more than walls.

MissShihTzu · 05-12-2020 3:34pm

We've painted the hall three times, the living room twice, kitchen once and our bedroom for the first time since we moved in. Landlord's fine about it and will knock the price of the paint off the rent. I also run the colours by him. Not a fan of weird and funky colours and everything's done in subtle shades - pale green, shades of taupe and pale grey.

Foweva Awone · 13-12-2020 6:59pm

Thanks guys for the responses.

I wouldn't feel confident painting it myself ... Out of interest, roughly how much would it cost to paint a two-bed apartment (including ceilings), assuming the landlord provides paint etc? Ballpark figure!

JimmyVik · 14-12-2020 12:24pm

If I was a landlord Id probably agree to let someone paint themselves if they agreed to return it to its original colour scheme at the end of their tenancy. Assuming they were good painters of course. not much good letting a tenant paint if you only have to pay professionals to paint it properly again if they did a bad job.

14-12-2020 12:53pm

Foweva Awone wrote: »

I wouldn't feel confident painting it myself ...

As the saying goes,
"if you can piss,you can paint".

Anyone can paint if you have the time,preparation is 80% of the job.

JimmyVik · 14-12-2020 12:57pm

Foweva Awone wrote: »

Thanks guys for the responses.

I wouldn't feel confident painting it myself ... Out of interest, roughly how much would it cost to paint a two-bed apartment (including ceilings), assuming the landlord provides paint etc? Ballpark figure!

Probably €350 to €500 per room these days, depending on the size of the room and how many coats.

ted1 · 14-12-2020 12:58pm

brisan wrote: »

The landlord is legally responsible
Every 3-4 years depending on the condition of the property would be normal
Some landlords don’t like the expense and try and hold off until there is a change of tenant

Sorry that’s rubbish. 3-4 years would not be the norm

ted1 · 14-12-2020 1:03pm

Foweva Awone wrote: »

Thanks guys for the responses.

I wouldn't feel confident painting it myself ... Out of interest, roughly how much would it cost to paint a two-bed apartment (including ceilings), assuming the landlord provides paint etc? Ballpark figure!

Depends on your definition.
Do you want paint out on walls?
Or do you want the walls prepared 90% of work and then painted 10%?

ted1 · 14-12-2020 1:05pm

JimmyVik wrote: »

If I was a landlord Id probably agree to let someone paint themselves if they agreed to return it to its original colour scheme at the end of their tenancy. Assuming they were good painters of course. not much good letting a tenant paint if you only have to pay professionals to paint it properly again if they did a bad job.

How would you recoup the cost of cleaning / replacing floor covered in paint? Or wall paint marks on the ceiling?
Or having to try and paint over a dark colour of paint ?

JimmyVik · 14-12-2020 1:08pm

ted1 wrote: »

How would you recoup the cost of cleaning / replacing floor covered in paint? Or wall paint marks on the ceiling?
Or having to try and paint over a dark colour of paint ?

I guess thats what a deposit would be for.
But I hear ya.
I certainly wouldnt be paying for paint ecery 5 years, and I certainlky wouldnt be painting in anything but neutral colours if I was paying for the painting.

In Germany, or in the USA you have to pay to have the place painted professionally the way it was when you moved in.
Should be the same here.

TheBoyConor · 14-12-2020 1:08pm

Claw Hammer wrote: »

The environmental inspector checks compliance with the Housing standards regulations. They are very picky.

The paint being a bit faded and tired looking will not prompt a direction to re-paint. For it to be a non-compliance would require the paint to be in a very poor state peeling off the wall or mouldy. The cosmetic element of paint does not have any gounding on the regulations.

If you get the council in to inspect the house without any genuine reason then all that will do is piss off the landlord for bringing that hassle to their door.

I have experience in this field, so trust me.

And another thing, if I was a landlord I wouldn't be letting a tenant repaint the house themselves unless they are a professional decorator. Because what I would be left with is a house with a botched DIY paint job, runs and streaks in the paint, overpainting of window frames, switches and architraves, big drips on skirtings and carpets, roller splotches on the ceiling all of which are an additional cost to rectify once the tenant fecks off probably with arrears.

I would allow the tenant to re-paint on the condition that the work was done by a professional painter-decorator. Unless the paint was genuinely in a poor state it would all have to be at the tenant's own cost. I would not be paying for a re-paint just because the tenant gets a mad notion that they would prefer Delicate Seashell rather than Natural Wicker.

beauf · 14-12-2020 1:55pm

I saw once where a tenant painted all the varnished wood in the house including the front door black, every wall dark purple. All done badly.

Mind you I've once seen a Landlord (and sons) paint everything a house white. Just went over everything with roller, no prep of any surface. Painted over everything photos, keys, anything on a wall.

Melanchthon · 14-12-2020 1:58pm

JimmyVik wrote: »

In Germany, or in the USA you have to pay to have the place painted professionally the way it was when you moved in.
Should be the same here.

I'd take that deal for German rents!can't compare Ireland to other countries moved into a few places with really bad paint jobs.

Painting rented apartment

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