My long time reader, John Gall, shot me a question that is a great post that many other landlords can probably benefit from.  Here is what he asked:

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on painting walls between tenants.  Seems like the bedroom walls always get scuffed up, dirty etc.  I could almost paint between tenants each time.  I stopped and just allow them to paint if they want, some do and some don’t. 

1:  Do you paint between tenants?

2:  If you’ve painted between tenants and after they ones move out the paint is scuffed, dirty and generally worn do you charge them for the repaint from the deposit?

3:  Why do tenants always seem to dirty the paint?  I’ve been in my house 10 years and nothing needs painting.  I don’t get what goes on.  I’m not even talking about trashing the place, the paint just seems to be “wearing” in the bedrooms.

Great questions.  Here are my answers:

1. Do you paint between tenants? Yes, typically.  I rarely just do touch up, I will repaint the walls.  The ceilings get done every 4-5 years depending if I have smokers.  As your follow on questions show, I rarely have a unit that is perfect enough to be rented as is.  Plus, I want to put my best foot forward with the new tenant. 
   • Because I use the same paint color on all my units (a darker beige color) it is pretty easy to roll the walls and not have to cut in.
   • The amount of time I have during my turnover may also determine how well I paint or if I do.  If my handyman has time, I will often have him roll the walls as necessary.  If there are other rehab or maintenance to do, again, it may change the amount of paint we are doing at the turn.
   • I do have some friends that paint their walls dark tan and the woodwork (when painted) very dark brown to hide dirt.  They will often not have to repaint, but maybe wash the walls in places or touch up such as where the couch was.
2. If you’ve painted between tenants and after they ones move out the paint is scuffed, dirty and generally worn do you charge them for the repaint from the deposit? That depends.  Your lease does state, normal wear and tear.  I know that even in my own house, I personally dinged the wall when I was moving something, plus the wall behind my computer desk gets marked occasionally by me sliding something around on my desk.
   • If the apartment is otherwise perfectly clean when they move out and it appears they were trying to be careful and do the best they could, then NO, I don’t charge them.  Alternatively, I know other landlords that want the unit in the same perfect condition as when the tenant moved in and will charge the tenant for any marks.  You need to find your happy medium.  Remember you should document your charges with pictures in case the tenant takes you to court claiming foul.
3. Why do tenants always seem to dirty the paint?  I’ve been in my house 10 years and nothing needs painting.  I don’t get what goes on.  I’m not even talking about trashing the place, the pant just seems to be “wearing” in the bedrooms. Wow!  I knew the answer to that, I would screen for the people that were not going to wear everything out!  I think everyone just has a different standard of living. 
   • My kids rooms are occasionally messy and they always have a toy or two in the family room at my house.  I can’t stand it and it drives me crazy.  When I complain about it, my wife has said that our house is perfect compared to some friends of hers that have toys and stuff ankle deep on their entire main floor.
   • It is no surprise that each community or neighborhood draws a different tenant profile.  This is driven by nearby jobs, schools, bus lines, rent amounts, and many other socioeconomic facts.  Your rental properties will attract the typically resident for that neighborhood.  Your experiences as a landlord for cleanliness, upkeep, paying rent, politeness, etc of your tenants is simply a byproduct of where your property is located.

It is not impossible to have a tenant that treats your rental like you treat your own home, but you need to search.  One option you do have when screening tenants, is to require an on-site inspection of their existing apartment.  Write up a 100 point scoring system to keep it completely legit and legal.  When you walk through, give them points for how clean the stove is (is it full of grease or is clean), how clean in the bathroom, are there clothes everywhere, what do the walls look like?  Using this scoring system and more importantly, getting into their current rental will tell you loads about how they will maintain your place.

You will be surprised at what a tenant calls “I just cleaned my apartment” and what you may call it.  Hopefully you are pleasantly surprised like my friend who’s tenant tells him to take off his shoes if he is coming in the door!