Damage from tenants moving in

[Marc Izquierdo]

Hi everyone,

I had tenants move in to a unit of mine about 3 months ago.  I inspect all of my units in September and March and during this September inspection, they told me (and showed me) some minor damage they caused from moving in.  It is just two paint scrapes (no spackle required). 

I know about it and have documented it, but do I make them fix it now?  My logic is that they have to live with it until they move out if they don't want to get it fixed now.  From their perspective I understand not wanting to pay to have it repaired if they're ok living with it.  In a perfect world, if they move out and it's still like that, it'll come out of their security deposit.  However, I also understand that I shouldn't let little stuff like this pile up.  So do I require that it gets fixed ASAP (my contractor and bill them back for it) or do I let it go for a few months until maybe a bunch of small things pile up and I can take care of them all in one shot.  In other words, if they're not complaining about it, should I fix it?

[Theresa Harris]

I'd leave it unless you have the time to do a quick touch up.  did it remove the paint or is there a mark on the paint?  That latter can be fixed with a quick wipe of a magic eraser.

It would be different if it was something that will get worse over time or cause more damage like a detached downspout or leaky faucet.