There are 3 potential issues landlords face when allowing tenants to paint their Tampa rental property.
So before we answer the question of whether you should allow your tenants to paint your Tampa rental property, we want to cover those things that you need to think about.
Workmanship
The first is workmanship. I see a lot of lousy tenant paint jobs. Anyone can paint, but the result can be streaky walls, outlet covers and switches getting painted over and drips on the baseboards. The worst is the really poor cutting-in and overpaint on the ceiling. That’s not so easy to fix. It can be hard to match the white and you usually have to re-paint the whole ceiling.
Paint Color
Color is the second issue. Tenants can choose really strange colors if you allow them to do this. If you don’t want to have to repaint after your tenant moves out, make sure the color used is neutral so it matches your next tenant’s furniture.
Liability
Finally, there’s the issue of liability. Imagine your tenants painting and they fall off a ladder and break their leg. As a result, they can’t work. They might have a problem paying the rent if they can’t work. What happens if you gave permission for your tenant to paint and the tenant’s attorney claims the tenant was injured while working for the landlord? That’s going to put a lot of liability on you.
You should allow your tenant to paint because you can’t be a happy landlord unless your tenant is happy. Your goal is always to keep good tenants. So let them paint, but have rules. First, the work needs to be done by an appropriately licensed painting contractor who has insurance. You must approve the color in advance and when the work is done, inspect to make sure a good job was done.
If you and your tenant are willing to agree to those rules, you should feel free to let your tenant paint away.
Contact us at Hoffman Realty if you have any questions.