Excessive Pet Paint Damage, Wear and Tear or Security Deposit?

[David Cramer]

I'm a single property landlord. Tenant recently moved out and the pets left a bunch of claw marks in the paint. The paint was last done in 2017. This tenant moved in 2019 and the walls were in good condition minus normal wear and tear when they moved in such as touched up nail holes. During the three years the dogs did a lot of damage to the walls. It seems to mostly hidable by repainting but is excessive how it and may still leave permanent scratch marks.

My goal is to be fair and follow best practices. Some people are saying it's excessive and should take the repainting of pet damage from the security deposit. Others saying that the paint is more than three years old and should be repainted anyways, scratch grooves may not be noticeable.

See pics, looking for advice from experienced landlords. Thanks.

[JD Martin]

I would touch up and move on. I've seen *a lot* worse than that. It looks like you have orange peel or stucco walls, and no one is going to see that once it's touched up. If that's the only damage you've got in a house from 3+ years with a pet you have done very well. I've had houses with animals, both human and non-human, that had far worse in far less time. I just turned one of our properties that had significant wood floor damage and significant ceiling repainting requirement from kids drawing on the ceiling with permanent sharpie markers. Fun stuff!