Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Carpet/Painting

This is a matter for negotiation between landlord and tenant. There is no legal requirement. Since there are more vacancies now than a few years ago, the tenant has a lot more bargaining power to get things like this as a condition for signing a new lease.

Re: Carpet/Painting

No; we constantly get questions like this, and I cannot understand where tenants get this idea, particularly in that most people who OWN their own house do not replace carpet, etc., every five years for their own houses. Just because there has been no painting in five years and no new carpet (many carpets look great after 10-15 years!) there is no legal obligation to paint or recarpet. However, there is also no legal requirement that you have to remain in that apartment, when renewal time comes around. Therefore, you can always request that the landlord do both, but if he refuses, be prepared to move if you cannot live with the current paint or carpet--that is always your remedy if you do not like your rental dwelling.

Re: Carpet/Painting

It depends upon what you mean by 'should.' If you mean, 'Is the landlord required by some law?' the answer is no, there is nothing in the law that compels a landlord to paint or change carpet at a specific interval. If it were a matter of a lead paint hazard, the answer might be different.

On the other hand, if by 'should' you mean 'Does it make good business sense,' the answer is maybe. Tenants are likely to move out of poorly maintained apartments and re-renting will be difficult.

A carpet should last more than five years and so should a paint job if they are of decent initial quality and properly maintained by periodic cleaning.