Painting a rental and asking LL to help with paint cost

silver17

I am in a rental property and would like to decorate some rooms... They are already technically neutral (matter of opinion re this shade) but I am looking to make them MORE neutral and calm.

Key points:
***It would all remain a neutral colour
***I would do the work so no labour costs
***LL did not paint any walls at all in the property after purchasing 5 years ago, from someone who had clearly not decorated in at least 30 years (v specific style!)

As I'm keeping it a neutral colour, in keeping with the colour of minimal things the landlord already updated (however they have not painted the walls at all since purchasing - thanks, Zoopla!), plus I am willing to do the work myself to save on labour costs, I would like to suggest to them I do not pay in full for the paint. I would even be willing to go halves.

I will be making it look much more modern, clean, and fresh - and avoiding colours that leave my own personal taste on it - so technically improving their property.

How do I approach this in a polite way?

I am with an LA, so this would go through them.

Thank you

sheramber

What doe your tenancy agreement say about decorating the property.  It might be your responsibility.

Northern_Wanderer

You can ask the landlord, they say yes or no. You accepted the property as it is however, regardless of what state it is in. I have seen people's attempts at decorating and as a landlord I would not give permission to a tenant to paint my property. I have friends who have asked, the landlord said no, but they painted anyway, which bothers me a lot.

There is no harm in you having a discussion about painting, see what they say. Good luck.

lika_86

If it's been five years then my starting point would be to ask if they will pay to get someone in to paint the place. If they say no then suggest you paint it and they pay for the paint. Start high and negotiate down if you need to 

Northern_Wanderer

Have you tried cleaning the walls on the off chance? This can sometimes make a room look newly painted. Depends on the paint that is there as some paints will literally wash off the wall if you wash them....test first. You'd have to clean them if you were to paint anyway.

justwondering25

Just remember, that if you decided to do the work, without your landlords consent, they are within their legal rights to ask you to put it back to its original condition. 

dimbo61

Did you get a written inventory with photos and videos of the property when you moved in ?
Did you sign it ?
Without a inventory the LL can't prove what colour the walls were.
Now if 5 years have passed the colour will have faded over time. 
So you have a decision to make 
1 Ask your landlord to repaint the whole property
2 Paint it yourself and hope you do a good job.( Depending on the Inventory bit !
Has the LL carried out all the other safety checks ?
EPC EICR GSC 

[Deleted User]

dimbo61 said:

Did you get a written inventory with photos and videos of the property when you moved in ?
Did you sign it ?
Without a inventory the LL can't prove what colour the walls were.
Now if 5 years have passed the colour will have faded over time. 
So you have a decision to make 
1 Ask your landlord to repaint the whole property
2 Paint it yourself and hope you do a good job.( Depending on the Inventory bit !
Has the LL carried out all the other safety checks ?
EPC EICR GSC 

What has an EPC EICR or GSC got to do with this? 
And, as per the title, how does any of the above accomplish the landlord helping to pay for the paint?