Section 8 Tenant Moved Out – Walls Extremely Dirty, $2,200 Repaint Job

[Vivi Liu]

I'm a private landlord managing a property remotely . My Section 8 tenant just moved out after two years. Overall, the structure of the home is fine, but the interior walls are extremely dirty — stained, covered in handprints, and generally neglected.

I had to hire a handyman to repaint the entire interior, which cost me $2,200 (it's a 4 bed / 2 bath single-story home). The move-out cleaning cost is around $240-$550, and I believe it’s fair to deduct this from the security deposit. BTW, the deposit is $2800

🔹 My questions:

• Would you consider this level of wall damage normal wear and tear, or damage beyond that that warrants deduction? 

• How much do you think would be a fair amount to deduct from your deposit based on the condition the walls were left in?

Thanks so much for your input!