Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
This question is regarding what is considered normal wear and tear.I am the landlord. The property is a single family home. It was leased for a period of 1 year. I am not exactly sure what normal and wear tear means in regard to possible damages to the property. The tenant may move out in as little 9 months with my approval or may continue to live out the full 1 year lease. I am specifically concerned with what I consider an inordinate number of pictures that have been hung on all of the walls throughout the rooms.
Prior to the current tenant's move in, all walls were freshly painted or in pristine condition -- no holes. My concern is that because of the large number of pictures hung in every room, I will have to repaint all of the walls. Again, please advise me as to what is normal wear and tear.with specific emphasis on what may be charged against damages with respect to the repainting of the walls.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Picture hanging holes are generally not considered wear and tear. The tenant can patch and paint, or you can and charge the tenant against the deposit. You should, however, conduct a walk through and note things like that and give the tenant the opportunity to take care of it before surrendering the premises. If you do the work, you also should do it in a reasonably efficient manner, meaning that if it would be more cost effective to patch and touch-up paint than repaint, you should do that. If you decide a repaint is necessary, be prepared to back that up if the tenant decides to make a small claims court issue about it.
There is no specific answer as it is all a matter of degree. Normally a few holes would fall withing normal wear and tear but if your wall looks like Swiss Cheese then it is not. As to the repairs again it is the reasonableness. I would have taken pictures before move in ( remember to do next time) and take them after they move out.
At the end of the day best solution is to talk to your tenant and try to reach an understanding before they move out so you won't end up in court.
Hope that helps and good luck.
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