paint yourself into a corner
By Dickie & Lyman LLP
who convenance landlord/tenant law and added areas of law
Q: Q: My ancestors has lived in the aforementioned accommodation for the aftermost eight years. My 12-year-old babe wants to adorn her room, which could use a new acrylic job. First, I asked the acreage administrator if they would repaint the room. They said no. Then I asked the acreage administrator if they could aloof pay for the acrylic and we’d do the labour. I was told that I could repaint the assemblage at my own expense, but I would be affected to acrylic all the walls in off-white. We’re advantageous for the paint, so shouldn’t we be able to accept whatever colours my babe wants?
A: There is a aberration amid adornment and acclimation a rental unit. Under the Residential Tenancies Act, a freeholder is amenable for advancement a rental assemblage in a acceptable accompaniment of repair. This includes acclimation beat paint. However, if the assemblage is in a acceptable accompaniment of repair, the freeholder has no obligation to redecorate the rental unit.
A addressee is amenable for cleanliness aural the rental unit, as able-bodied as acclimation any accident that they or their guests account to the rental unit. Generally, the lifespan of the acrylic depends on the tenant’s activities aural the rental unit. If the assemblage is able-bodied looked after, the acrylic should aftermost a continued time.
If repainting or attic refinishing is needed, landlords will usually do it afore a new addressee moves in. The about-face amid tenants provides landlords with an befalling to do the assignment while the assemblage is abandoned and there is no charge to move or assure furniture.
The rules about a addressee adornment a rental assemblage are usually set out in the lease. Some leases acquiesce a addressee to acrylic the rental assemblage during the tenancy, with the landlord’s permission and with banned on the colours. Such leases about crave tenants to repaint the rental assemblage in the aboriginal colour above-mentioned to affective out.
There are abundant affidavit for your landlord’s affirmation on the rental assemblage actuality corrective in an fair colour. If you were to acrylic your daughter’s allowance in a aphotic colour, such as a aphotic amethyst or black, it would booty several layers of acrylic for the freeholder to repaint the rental unit. Fair is not a turnoff to best -to-be tenants, admitting added colours can be (even ablaze colours).
Also, landlords appetite to accept a constant acrylic colour for all units so that they abstain problems in analogous shades of acrylic back they charge to do repairs.
A addressee about needs to accord 60 days’ apprehension to abolish a tenancy. Landlords can appearance the assemblage to -to-be tenants immediately, and usually try to accept the assemblage re-rented aural canicule for the new control to activate 40 or 50 canicule later, about the day afterwards the move-out date. If acrylic colours abash -to-be tenants from renting a assemblage afore the assemblage is repainted (after the move-out date), that may amount the freeholder one, two or alike three months’ absent rent. If you offered to extend your charter for a anchored term, the freeholder may be accommodating to accede to a added best in acrylic colours.
Your landlord’s requirements are accepted and reasonable, as they acquiesce you to activate up the apartment, while aspersing the accident of the added costs or absent acquirement for the landlord.
