Tenant painted original woodwork

[Kathy Hacmac]

Our tenant, without permission, painted original shellac woodwork in her apartment. We are restorers and this was original untouched woodwork in a 90 year old house.

We are of course furious; she is non repentant but willing to try to fix it before she moves out.

That's the last thing we want as the best options for restoring it will involve using a heat gun.

Can I charge her for this? What might be reasonable? She says she will take us to court to get all her deposit but that really doesn't worry me.

Any suggestions or similar experiences?