Renting - walls need painting, etc - who pays?

buel10

Hi all.
My wife and I are moving in to a house in two weeks. Other than the initial viewing whilst the tenants were still there (and furniture, etc), we had 30 minutes yesterday to give the interior a good going over. The walls really could do with painting (on the stairs there is a strange white effort of paint going down parallel to the stairs) and there are the obligatory holes in the wall from picture frames, etc.

My wife has been looking at quotes from painters and decorators and has been shocked at the prices. Is there any obligation for the landlord and / or estate agent to help fund this?

The lino really needs replacing too...but I guess this is a separate argument....

Thanks in advance.

buggy_boy

It depends what you mean by needs repainting? and new vinyl... Are you being over critical or does it actually need doing?

It is generally the landlords responsibility, ask the landlord or agent if the property is going to be redecorated, you could say you want that doing before you will agree to move in..

And yes painters and decorators especially for staircases can be pricey.

Your obligation would be return it in the state that it was given to you, do not repaint without the landlords consent.

diggingdude

Make sure the state you have it in is properly recorded when move in so LL doesnt try and get you to pay for painting at the end

boliston

I would imagine that something like a re-dec would be best discussed before signing the tenancy agreement rather than after.

G_M

Have you signed the teanancy agreement yet?


If not, mention your request for the LL to redecorate and if the LL agrees, get that agreement in writing along with the TA.


If you've already signed you have less bargaing position, but can still ask. Bear in mind


* the LL can refuse - you took the property as it is
* you can offer to redecorate yourself, but you need his agreement to colour changes and indeed the redecoration. Get agreement in writing
* you should in any case ensure the inventory correctly describes the condition when you move in.

Marvel1

Np there is no obligation for the landlord to pay to paint, you take it as seen.

shortcrust

cjdavies wrote: »

Np there is no obligation for the landlord to pay to paint, you take it as seen.

Exactly. And the rent presumably reflects the condition of the property as seen. If the landlord wasn't prepared to do it up before showing it to prospective tenants I'd be amazed if they'd be up for doing it once you've taken the place.

Decorators are expensive but paint, brushes and elbow grease are cheap.:)

lookstraightahead

I think it depends whether you can put up with it as it is. If the landlord can't be bothered to paint it then I certainly wouldn't - and shouldn't - as a tenant. Make sure though you take photos of how the walls are before you move in so that you then cannot be charged for mucky walls at the end of your tenancy, along with everything else. It's likely that if the landlord wants to skip any expenses then there's other things too - check carpets, whether the oven has just been cleaned or whether it is spotless, marks in fridge and other white goods, any cracks in things like toilet seats, marks on blinds etc. I've been stung by a greedy agent before because I didn't check properly. Make sure you do.

sevenhills

buel10 wrote: »

My wife has been looking at quotes from painters and decorators and has been shocked at the prices. Is there any obligation for the landlord and / or estate agent to help fund this?

The lino really needs replacing too...but I guess this is a separate argument....

Thanks in advance.

It depends on what standards the landlord has, they will set the rent accordingly.
Does the landlord have numerous properties?

Pixie5740

No there is no obligation for the landlord to redecorate the property or to fund the work. The letting agent (not estate agent) has even less obligation than the landlord since they are just the landlord's agent and act on his instruction. You don't even have a contract with the letting agent.

As a tenant I wouldn't spend money hiring a painter and decorator if all I had was an AST. I wouldn't even spend money on paint and use up my own spare time doing it either.

G_M

Pixie5740 wrote: »

As a tenant I wouldn't spend money hiring a painter and decorator if all I had was an AST. I wouldn't even spend money on paint and use up my own spare time doing it either.

unless perhaps you had a 3 year contract so would reap the benefit?