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Management repainting the unit

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Management repainting the unit

Postby kiduek11 » Tue May 26, 2015 11:01 am

I rented an apartment from an apartment management that owns about 30 buildings in the city. So it is a reasonably big management. I moved out of my unit and the management keeping my security deposit one of the reasons being having to repaint the whole wall and ceiling because some areas in the living room wall and ceiling need repainting.

Don’t big managements usually repaint the unit anyways before they get a new tenants? Can they take my security deposit for the painting?

Even if they can charge me, if the partial painting is an option, they cannot charge me for the price of painting the whole place, right?
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Re: Management repainting the unit

Postby TenantNet » Tue May 26, 2015 11:24 am

Yes, they often repaint, but that is not the question. Painting - whether it needs it or not - is maintenance. It is not damages that should be covered by a security deposit. Anything that wears out due to normal wear and tear may need periodic maintenance. That includes painting, carpets and so on. Normal wear and tear is usage by the tenants in the manner in which it is intended to be used. Carpets are meant to be walked on, and that causes wear. Walls will have occasional nail holes for pictures (although the holes are usually filled before painting).

I would write the landlord demanding the entire deposit, and/or a detailed list of what work was done including the cost of the work, not only for materials, but for labor.

Now, you should have done a walk-through before leaving. You did that, right?

In any case, you can either file a case in small claims court or go to the Attorney General's office seeing your deposit.
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Re: Management repainting the unit

Postby kiduek11 » Tue May 26, 2015 1:04 pm

In my case, the area that needs to be repainted is where a temporary pressurized wall had been installed. The temp wall didn't leave any real damage to the wall, but it did leave traces of line where the temp wall had been touching the living room wall.

would this fall under normal wear and tear?
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Re: Management repainting the unit

Postby TenantNet » Tue May 26, 2015 1:26 pm

Maybe, maybe not. But let the LL make the specific allegation first.
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