Tenant Keeps Painting Interior Unit - Warned to Get Permission

[Anne Taylor]

My tenant emailed me that she is in-process with painting the kitchen of her unit. I emailed her a month ago to not paint any other rooms beyond the bathroom without advance discussion. At move-in 1.5 years ago, this tenant requested to paint the unit and indicated having professional experience with her mother. She is in early 20's so her hands-on experience would probably be rather limited.

In March 2020, the tenant emailed that she had started painting the bathroom and emailed a link to the color she had chosen. I responded that I was happy to pay her supplies costs and negotiate labor costs. However, I warned that since I live out of state and could not view results in near-term, she would assume some liability if I did not find the quality or color schemes to be viable after her lease term ends.       

This morning, she emailed again that she was in-process with painting the kitchen and emailed 2 links to proposed colors for her next paint project, the bedrooms. This is a young woman of apparent modest economic means (she disclosed reduced hours under CV-19 lockdown & I have already reduced her last rent by 75%). Realistically, the odds of recovering any fees for correcting a poor paint job with a professional would be slim. She is already in-process, so shutting her down now may increase bad-will and lack of care for unit over her remaining 9 mos. lease term.

· How likely is it that interior painting by amateurs turns out well enough to appeal to future tenants?

· How do I determine how much to pay her, especially sight-unseen until I arrive on-site 2 months away.

· Should I stop the painting now with threat of a lease terms breach or be grateful for lower cost paint job?