Would you let your tenants paint the interior before moving out?

[Bearded Man]

They are offering to do it as long as I pay for paint, though I'm worried that they will spill and be sloppy.

Costs me $400 plus materials to hire a painter, which isn't bad, but this allows me to have it painted before new tenant moves in.

[Bobberth]

Have you seen how bad people can be at painting?

Is the current paint ok or is it nasty?  I show my properties while still painting and fixing things up.  I've even showed properties with the bathroom wall missing from replacing the stack.  Most people won't mind and actually seem to like me telling them that I'm going to paint and make the place even better than it is now.  Some will mind but I always wonder with those if they would be a PITA if they actually moved in.   If some of it is nasty, start with that first, even if it is just touching up in a few spots.

[Gone Fishing]

I let a tenant paint once (at move in because she didn't like the color), never again. Why are they even offering?  Did they make a mess of it way beyond normal wear and tear? If so withhold $400 from their deposit and pay the painter.

[tonysemail]

if you haven't visited his blog, I adhere to the advice given in this post-
http://www.nononsenselandlord.com/2014/06/allow-a-renter-to-paint/

You know your tenants best... do you trust them to do a good job?

[Rezdent]

I would but only if they were professional painters in their day job.  And they used my paint.  And they had a deadline, which if they missed they would pay the costs for professional painting.
Hmm.  Now that I wrote that out, I see the answer is no, I would not.

[Shinplaster]

If it was me doing the painting, yes.  Anyone else, no.   Have you seen what people think is a good paint job?  Blech!

[TrMama]

They're not even willing to pony up for paint? What makes you think they'll do a good job?

[Papa bear]

No.  You'll have more work fixing their mess ups.


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[fishnfool]

Let a tenant paint? Hell No!

Not unless they paint for a living and would do a better job than me.

[rightdecisions]

One situation....I let the tenant paint.  It was horrible.

Recently let another tenant paint.  Turned out beautiful and save me time/money.

I have no problem with them painting as long as they do it right.  That one situation....cost them when they moved out.

[sheepstache]

I'm curious why they're offering in the first place?

[MMMaybe]

Yes, if the tenant knew what they were doing. I have painted a couple of rented places but I do a lovely job, even if I say so myself. I have seen jobs done by professionals that were sloppy and messy, so using one is no guarantee either.

[Bearded Man]

The walls were pretty grimey from their kids. I was waaaay too lenient with these people. They got a dog (not allowed on the lease) had a pool (also not allowed), and her sister moved in with them, so it ended up being 3 adults, and four kids living in my 3 bedroom 1 bath house....

They seem to be doing a good job so far, they patched the nail holes in the walls, etc. If they do a crummy job I will consider charging them. They did a surprising amount of damage, which they are fixing before they move out. Torn carpet in one spot, torn vinyl, bathroom cabinet kicked in, walls dirty from their kids, and half of the brand new blinds in the house shredded. They are replacing all of it. They have been good people to date, so I hope they come through. Push comes to shove I pay a guy to do it over and they foot the bill from their deposit, which may be a bit dicey, as I did not give them the move in inspection required by state law. I filled it out but they never signed, opting to take pictures instead. Live and learn.

I'm doing an annual inspection from now on (was relying on maintenance visits before) and will be adding an addendum for what is considered normal wear vs. damage attached to the lease, using my states suggested guidelines. A scuff here and there on the walls, normal wear. Walls with large holes, grime all over or lot's of small holes are damage. Faded or dusty blinds, normal wear. Broken or shredded blinds, damage, etc.

I also did a better job of documenting my last rental property tenant move in. They got a move in check list, and I took pictures before they moved in. Lot's of pictures...They will be getting a visit in a few weeks for an annual inspection (with required notice of course) not to mention the fact that I renewed them on a month-to-month lease rather than an annual lease, so I can get rid of them easier if needed. I'm learning...

[sheepstache]

Hm, so you already have the potential fight about whether it's covered under acceptable wear and tear. Now if they do a bad job with the painting and you want to charge them for professionals, you'll not only have to have the fight over whether it was reasonable wear and tear but also a fight over the subjective question of whether they painted well enough.

Their offer still seems odd. If it's acceptable wear and tear they shouldn't offer to do the work, because it's your responsibility. If it's their fault, they should pay for the paint.

It sounds like they've been there long enough that you might have had to do a re-paint for regular wear and tear anyway. I'd hire someone but tell them you have to charge them for half because the excessive wear means you have to do the whole place / multiple coats or whatever.

[Bearded Man]

The paint was only 2 years old when they moved in, and my gf and I didn't hang so much as a picture on the wall or a scuff. We never wore our shoes in the house or ate or drank so much as water on the carpeted areas. My house rules. The walls are dirty as hell as a result of these people. I'm largely only paying for the paint because my move in inspection situation with them is not air tight and it saves me some money having them do it with their labor while I provide supplies.

Rest assured, from now on, I will be adding a damage vs. normal wear addendum to the lease to describe the difference for common situations and will withhold damage deposit moneys as allowed by law for damages caused by tenants. I've swung from being a lenient landlord to a strict one after this. Luckily, the house was not as bad as I expected it to be with their dog, and such. I did collect a $400 non refundable pet fee from them for their two cats (no dogs were allowed) so that will help if they don't fix some stuff. They are painting it largely because they know they messed up. I'm paying for the paint because they are providing the labor and the paint will help me raise the rents in the future and I don't have a solid footing with the deposit situation on the count of lacking a signed condition checklist, required by law in my state.

[NoNonsenseLandlord]

Spend the $400 on a painter...  Who knows what quality you will get, or what colors.

if you haven't visited his blog, I adhere to the advice given in this post-
http://www.nononsenselandlord.com/2014/06/allow-a-renter-to-paint/

Thanks for the mention!

[Bearded Man]

Luckily they did a good job painting and carpet cleaning. House smells and looks great. First and last time I will do that though...

[powskier]

On the paint front, I have found it to be worth it to use a good quality paint , ours is called "property management" it goes on thick and tough, cleans up really well and so far has made tenant clean up far quicker and easier. A little more expensive up front but well worth it.
I would never allow a tenant to paint, particularly if they had trashed the place, but it sounds like it worked out for you so good call.