paint

[cbfknsh]

I have lived in the same apartment for 7 years and our lease is coming up for renewal again. Each year the landlord has a claus in the lease stating that if you request your apt. to be painted, the cost is 750 dollars and if you do not stay for your entire one year lease, you will be required to pay for it. However, if you do not renew your lease the following year you will be required to pay 500 dollars for the paint. This goes on for four years following painting. So even though I would be signing a one year lease, if I renewed for the next two years he still expects that I will pay for paint. I have been here 7 years without painting. They do not allow you to paint yourself. Is this legal? And if I sign the lease and ask for paint, am I responsible to pay for a balance of it if I don't renew for four years in a row? This seems wrong to me. We live in a large complex in Rockland County that is not rent controlled or subsidized and he has just raised our rent by 80 dollars. Please help, as we need to sign the lease soon and I would really like to have these horrible dirty white walls re-painted.

Thanks for the help.

[HAJ77]

Not sure how it works in Rockland, but in NYC they have to paint your apartment for free since it's regular up-keep of the building. Do all the residents have this clause?

[cbfknsh]

Originally posted by HJ:
Not sure how it works in Rockland, but in NYC they have to paint your apartment for free since it's regular up-keep of the building. Do all the residents have this clause?

It appears all of the tenants have the same clause. It just doesn't sound like something that tenants should be responsible for. Does it?

[cbfknsh]

Does anyone out there know anything about this paint dilemna?? If you ask to have your apartment painted, I understand you are asked to sign a statement saying that you will stay for four years, otherwise you will have to pay a portion of the painting. It does not assure that you will be offered a lease however for all of those years. Please advise, as I am coming to the end of my lease and would like to have my apt. painted and do not know what rights I have. It has been 7 years since I moved into this apt. and I had to pay to have it painted when I first moved in. Thanks for any help that anyone can offer.