Tenant Labor - Is It Really Worth It?
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I had a friend of mine stop me at church the other day and asked me what I thought about one of his residents request. He said the request
by the resident he had in a duplex he owned was to be allowed to paint some of the inside of his apartment. This was a long term resident and the unit had not been painted since the resident moved in years ago. The resident was willing to pay for the paint and take care of all the work himself.
While it sounds like a great idea, but in reality it is not. Residents should never be allowed to paint or make any other alterations to the property.
There are many reasons why this is not a good idea. My experience is that residents do not know how to do the work properly causing much more
work and cost in the future. We have seen numerous cases where residents did not properly prepare the areas before painting, used incompatible types of paint, like flat paint put over gloss or semi gloss paint without properly preparing it or using the wrong finish for the wrong application. Additionally dark or very intense colors were used that became difficult to cover when repainted. Painted over electrical receptacles and switches and paint on the windows often resulted. We have also seen carpeting and vinyl ruined as well as paint on tile and wood flooring that was very costly to remove. We have also seen cases where residents were injured while painting or doing work on the premises and then looked to the owner for coverage on the cost of the injury. Be especially careful with this if you are trading rent for work. The individuals doing the work can be construed as
employees or subcontractors and you may be liable for their injuries. Sometimes what seems like a great idea can turn out to be not so great in the end.
One of the IRC members had a friend that allowed the resident to install ceiling fans in a property. There were no ceiling fixtures in the rooms where the fans were installed, The resident who was not an electrician did the work himself. He cut some wires in the attic to splice into them and did not do a proper splice, later there was a fire caused by the splice and a great deal of difficulty ensued with the insurance company over the claim.
Our Lease (Rental Contract) in bold print forbids the application of any paint to the interior or exterior of the property or any other alterations made
without managements written approval. Such activity could result in termination of the Lease, additional security deposit or waiver of full security deposit. The bottom line is it is the owners responbilility to maintain and improve the property.
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