Landlord Question and Answer Forum

We just had our first renters leave out rental house after 1.5yr (eventhough they had a 2 yr lease) and the walls were disgusting. I had the place fully painted right before they moved in. I was planning on repainting the place every 4-5 yrs, maybe doing touch ups but thats about it. I haven't repaited my house in the past 6 yrs, have small kids and it looks good. The walk through was very weird and at night and I ended up feeling pressured to give them their deposit back because I felt sorry for them as they are a nice couple of professionals but have financial issues which, we do not. I want to do things differently this time around and would like to have them sign an agreement that if they stay less than 4 years, they will be repsonsible for a prorated portion of the painting cost if walls show problems beyond normal sign of wear. Is there something like this I can use? Vanessa

Less than four years? You may want to check with your state laws, most states only allow for a maximum of 1 year at a time unless it is a commercial lease, which this seems like it is residential. If your state allows you can have them help responsible for the full lease term even if they leave early. For them to leave early with no penalty you would need to draw up a mutual termination of lease. And always do a walkthrough on the way in and out, you never have to pay out a security deposit on the spot, by law.

Posted by Richard W, PA on Sunday, June 28, 2015