Paint Responsibility

[James Chung]

Hi BP Community,

I really hate to use this forum for 'tenant advice/complaining', but I need your help please. I tried to do some research, but information remains ambiguous based on my research.

We recently moved out of our old apt (Oct 31), and property manager is telling me that we will lose approx. $500-700 from the initial security deposit for painting the unit - I'll get details of the deductions on Monday, I'm told.

Is tenant responsible for painting the unit? This is what I found online, and it's still unclear to me:

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Paint requirements: Interior walls, ceilings and other exposed surfaces in rental units must be kept smooth, clean, free of flaking, loose or peeling paint, plaster or paper and maintained in a sanitary condition. Painting or other protective coatings are the responsibility of the occupant, not the landlord when required more than once every three years, as a result of acts or omissions of the tenant. (Rental units are not required to be painted between tenants.)

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What is the translation here? Also:

- The unit failed state inspection just before we moved out, so they cannot rent to the next tenant until pending issues are resolved (they won't give me a copy of the official notice itemizing the issues), and God knows what toxins we were consuming in the 4.5 yrs we lived there.

- There was no mention of security deposit being deposited into an interest accruing account, and I wasn't aware of this requirement until I started doing some research in lieu of the incident above (so I never requested this information from my end either). So do I lose out on interest here? Do I have a case? Is it worth chasing?

There are many things to complain about, but my primary focus is whether or not losing $500-700 on 'paint' is justified as the tenant. I would've painted myself, but the person they hired to 'estimate damages' told us not to paint because he would take care of it.

Thank you!