Renting - who is responsible for decorating?

Grumpy_chap

Ask the LL - they may say "no" - they may say "yes"
At least, if they say "no", you'll know and you can then request permission to decorate yourself and hopefully the LL will be amenable.

lookstraightahead

I didn't think you had to request permission to decorate, you just need to ensure it's changed back to how it was (wear and tear excepted)? Or am I wrong?

EDIT - looks like I'm wrong. So you could rent a property for 20 years and you're forbidden to decorate (potentially) but landlords don't have to do it either.

Blimey!

sevenhills

newbieni said:

Hi, 

A work colleague rents a house and has done so for four years, the house was apparently freshly decorated prior to moving in, however, the living room is now a little scruffy and needs a fresh coat of paint. Is this the landlord's responsibility?

Scruffy would imply that someone or something has made it scruffy.

My white-painted walls are very much still white. I have recently painted over the marks left by my daughter's cats.

What has made it look scruffy?

MultiFuelBurner

If the decoration was new four years ago and looks scruffy maybe you need to touch up the scruffs?

Ask the landlord what colour and make of paint they used. 

user1977

lookstraightahead said:

I didn't think you had to request permission to decorate, you just need to ensure it's changed back to how it was (wear and tear excepted)? Or am I wrong?

EDIT - looks like I'm wrong. So you could rent a property for 20 years and you're forbidden to decorate (potentially)

What remedy would the landlord have? Make you un-decorate it?

lookstraightahead

user1977 said:

lookstraightahead said:

I didn't think you had to request permission to decorate, you just need to ensure it's changed back to how it was (wear and tear excepted)? Or am I wrong?

EDIT - looks like I'm wrong. So you could rent a property for 20 years and you're forbidden to decorate (potentially)

What remedy would the landlord have? Make you un-decorate it?

Yes, make sure you decorate it in a way that could get it back to magnolia, fill in any shelving holes etc. 

propertyrental

lookstraightahead said:

I didn't think you had to request permission to decorate, you just need to ensure it's changed back to how it was (wear and tear excepted)? Or am I wrong?

EDIT - looks like I'm wrong. So you could rent a property for 20 years and you're forbidden to decorate (potentially) but landlords don't have to do it either.

Blimey!

No you're basically right, but to pre-empt any discussion/dispute when you leave over whether your paint/colour scheme was the same as the original, it is sensible to get agreement in writing.

And realistically, when you move out, do you really want to 'change back to how it was (wear and tear excepted)?' Are you really going to redecorate again when you leave.......?

lookstraightahead

propertyrental said:

lookstraightahead said:

I didn't think you had to request permission to decorate, you just need to ensure it's changed back to how it was (wear and tear excepted)? Or am I wrong?

EDIT - looks like I'm wrong. So you could rent a property for 20 years and you're forbidden to decorate (potentially) but landlords don't have to do it either.

Blimey!

No you're basically right, but to pre-empt any discussion/dispute when you leave over whether your paint/colour scheme was the same as the original, it is sensible to get agreement in writing.

And realistically, when you move out, do you really want to 'change back to how it was (wear and tear excepted)?' Are you really going to redecorate again when you leave.......?

When we left our rental we repainted throughout anyway (hadn't decorated but wanted to remove scuffs etc). We'd put things on walls so we needed to put that right. I think the thing is it's someone's home, often for a long time. But yes if the landlord agrees it helps.

Slinky

I visited someone who had decorated their rental home, which would have been fine if they'd bothered to paint far enough behind the radiators that you couldn't see the previous, quite different, colour. Was really noticeable in their hall.

saajan_12

newbieni said:

Hi, 

A work colleague rents a house and has done so for four years, the house was apparently freshly decorated prior to moving in, however, the living room is now a little scruffy and needs a fresh coat of paint. Is this the landlord's responsibility?

Thanks 

The LL is responsible for ensuring the property is in good repair, that doesn't extend to cosmetic work. 

The Tenant is responsible for returning the property in the same condition less fair wear & tear. Usually decoration would last longer than 4 years, so arguably the Tenant has caused more than fair wear & tear. While they aren't responsible for decorating during the tenancy, they may be charged for part of the cost to decorate if the current level of 'scruffing up' of the walls is extrapolated.