Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Illinois

I took an townhouse with my landlord and we signed a lease that states if I paint I would have repaint the unit upon vacating the premises . They ended up selling the unit and I moved into another one of there units with a new lease. In this new lessee we sign that the unit was not freshly painted.. But I ended up painting the unit colors I like while I occupied it just some walls not the whole unit I have lived there for 3 years. So my question to you is am responsible for repainting the walls back when they didn't freshly paint the unit before I moved in..


Asked on 2/29/12, 2:32 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Messutta

Check your lease. It probably says 2 things:

(1) you've examined or inspected the premises and taking possession of it is conclusive evidence it was in good condition, or something like that...THEREFORE, if so, just because it wasn't freshly painted may be irrelevant: if you didn't ask the landlord to repaint it for you before moving in, you may have accepted it the way it was.

(2) you shall do no decorating, painting...without landlord's prior consent, or something like that. THEREFORE, if so, if you did any painting you may be required to repaint it when you leave. It may depend on the colors (the darker they are the more likely you'll have to), and look, you are working with the landlord, moving when he/she needs you to, so it sounds like they're reasonable. HOPEFULLY!!!!

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Answered on 2/29/12, 4:13 pm


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