Deduct paint cost from security deposit?

Question

Experienced landlords:

Generally speaking, when you are turning a property between long term tenants, do consider re-painting as a “standard” part of the process? Or, do you consider that as “extra” wear and tear and deduct the cost of the paint from the security deposit?

Also- what are items that you typically deduct from the security deposit when changing tenants?

Thanks so much!

Greg M. · Answer

Check your local laws. Usually paint has a legal lifespan of a year or two. Therefore, you can't usually charge for it.

However, if they damaged the walls or did something that requires additional undercoats, you can charge for that, but must not include the cost of normal painting - only the upcharge for additional work.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Are you using children's water colors?

Do you repaint every rental every couple of years? How about your own home?

Inter-NACHI says paint life expectancy is 7-10 years. HUD says paint should last 5-7 years.

Unless your state law requires it, paint should last much longer than 1-2 years. If a wall is heavily scuffed and can't be cleaned, there's no need to paint the entire place. Paint the wall that was damaged "beyond ordinary wear-and-tear" and charge the tenant for it. Try to use the same paint brand, color, and finish so you always have some on hand, especially if you have multiple units.

A few very small nail holes for hanging pictures is ordinary. Screws, lag bolts, TV mounts, shelves, and fist holes are not ordinary and should be charged.

Kay March · Answer

Generally, you don't deduct for ordinary wear and tear. You do deduct for damage. You might also deduct specific amounts for cleaning specific items or areas. All this should be spelled out as clearly as possible in your lease, and your lease should follow local laws.

If there are areas where the tenant has damaged the paint, aside from normal nail holes, I deduct the cost of a fresh can of paint. I do the touch-up myself and don't charge for the labor. I do this no matter how long the tenant has lived in the rental. I take pictures of the damage and the repair.

By the way, I don't allow nail holes or screw holes or any kind of adhesive fixative on doors, interior or exterior. If they want to hang a wreath on the front door, they can use one of those over-the-door hangers.

On the subject of walls, I install curtain rods and require the tenants to use only those and not to install their own. They are not allowed to move or alter any shelving. They can use only stand-along shelving in the garage.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

That should be a disclaimer to your post. California is very different from the other 49 states and VERY different from about 40 of them. That's why NOLO created a legal guide for Landlords that covers every state . . . except California, which gets it's own book.

The OP is in PA and I see no evidence of a requirement to paint at any particular interval. I suggest he charge for repairs beyond ordinary wear-and-tear and do touch-up paint to make it look better for the next renter.

Greg M. · Answer

Paint should last 5-10 years. However, what a landlord can deduct for and how long the item should last are two different things. Since I'm in CA, our landlord guidelines say that we can recoup nothing if the paint is 2 years old. If the paint is >1 but <2 I can recoup 1/3 the cost.

Doing a quick search it appears that most references (including lawyers) say landlords should not deduct if the paint is 2-3 years old.

Tom Degroodt · Answer

If you need to paint during a turn we usually get away with using an 18” roller and rolling any walls not cleaned up with magic eraser. If using same color/brand paint you shouldn’t need to cut the paint in. Typical 2 bd should only take a couple hours to do most of it.

Theresa Harris · Answer

Depends.  Holes that need plastering, yes. Large nail holes or lots of them in a small area, possibly.  Mr Clean eraser gets rid of a lot of marks.  Someone mentioned paint has a life span of 1-2 years, not sure what kind of paint they are using, it should last a lot longer than that.  Keep some extra paint on hand and touch ups are pretty fast.

Chris Herrera · Answer

@Monica Evans typically it’s wear and tear and part of the standard process unless they punched a huge hole in the wall

Greg M. · Answer

Holes as in nail holes to hang a picture = normal wear & tare.

Holes as in damage = deduction from their security deposit.

Scuffs that require patching may be a deduction from their security deposit, but it's going to depend on the level of damage and how long they lived there. Remember, if you plan on doing the repair work yourself, in most places you cannot charge the tenant for this. Only if you hire someone to do the work. And make sure you document all the costs and send an itemized list to them before the legal deadline.

Monica Evans · Answer

@Greg M.

Thanks! I figured that painting was just part of the standard process. That said- there are quite a few holes in walls and scuffs all over the walls. Even the ceilings are scuffed! So, was just wondering. Thanks for replying to me!

Deduct paint cost from security deposit?

Most Popular Reply