New tenants want to paint bedrooms - Landlord Forum thread

New tenants want to paint bedrooms by outabout (Co) on July 17, 2012 @19:36

My new T who will move in in about week has asked if they could paint a couple bedrooms.

I have read that most LLs have had bad experience and would say NO. I try to think from T's perspective, I want them be happy, but certainly not at my expense.

My proposal to them will be that they must hire a professional painter (the painter I use to paint my own home), the color and paint selection must be approved by me, they pay the painter directly. I will also ask the painter to give me an estimate on painting it back to the current color after T moves out, and this amount will be deducted from their SD. I will make them sign an addendum to agree to all this.

Can anyone see a downside of this? The expenses may deter them from wanting to paint, which is just fine with me. But if they do go ahead, I got myself covered, I hope.

Thanks for you thoughts.

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Re: New tenants want to paint bedrooms by Bryan (Ia) on July 17, 2012 @19:42	[ Reply ]

Here's another viewpoint...If they didn't like it when they looked at it, why did they sign the lease? My answer would be no. BTW, how many coats of paint do you want on the walls by allowing this to happen T after T after T??????

Re: New tenants want to paint bedrooms by Anonymous on July 17, 2012 @19:46	[ Reply ]

I had a tenant once that stapled (Colored ) bed sheets to a 1" x 2" frame and hung it up with piano wire and 2 small nail holes.I thought this was a neat way to add color to a room. It's a lot cheaper than 2 paint jobs!

Re: New tenants want to paint bedrooms by Jake on July 17, 2012 @19:52	[ Reply ]

If you approve the paint and color put on by a "professional" painter, why would you charge them to paint it back to the original color when they moved? At any rate, do not allow the tenant to paint. They will do a crappy job and at some point they will say you owe them money for doing a crappy job. And believe me, you will really need to paint again when they move as well as remove the paint from the baseaboard and the floor.

Re: New tenants want to paint bedrooms by Eloise on July 17, 2012 @19:57	[ Reply ]

If you are inclined to allowing them, I don't see a problem with your idea. I don't know that I would charge for re-painting though, chances are, you will need to re-paint anyway when they move out, and you don't need to charge for that as it is normal wear and tear. I see the point of the fact they can live with it, but if you pretty much have all control over it {color, professional} and in addition you have good and happy tenants, why not? Do not let them paint with dark colors or faux finishes. You will regret it.

Re: New tenants want to paint bedrooms by JD-NY on July 17, 2012 @20:00	[ Reply ]

Make them pay the cost of painting it back up front. But if you like their color, might as well just leave it. It's impt you pick the painter(which you say you will).

Re: New tenants want to paint bedrooms by Greg on July 17, 2012 @22:34	[ Reply ]

If possible up the security deposit by the amount it will cost to repaint back to original. Do not do this without this additional money. Good luck, Greg in Phoenix

Re: New tenants want to paint bedrooms by outabout (CO) on July 18, 2012 @02:26	[ Reply ]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate all your suggestions.

Re: New tenants want to paint bedrooms by Anonymous on July 18, 2012 @03:41	[ Reply ]

I let my newest tenant paint and he did a great job of it. In the past I have left it to the tenants if they want to paint the bedrooms but not the rest of the house as I don't want to repaint the whole thing over when they move. Odds are when you tell them a professional painter has to be used they won't want to paint so badly any more.

Re: New tenants want to paint bedrooms by Anonymous on July 18, 2012 @09:17	[ Reply ]

Ther are great wall decals now that are no stick and leave no mark when peeled off. That might be another option for adding color.

Re: New tenants want to paint bedrooms by will (oh) on July 18, 2012 @13:41	[ Reply ]

I do basically what you do, but I tell them that I need the money for the repaint before my guy gets started on the job. This usually dissuades them. For some reason, people always feel the need to add their "touch" to things. If the wall was white, they would want it black, and vice versa. Letting the tenant paint is a terrible idea, and jake is 100% correct.

Re: New tenants want to paint bedrooms by Anna Mouse on July 18, 2012 @22:11	[ Reply ]

If they will pay for the painter, I vote for accent walls.