to paint or not to paint

Surprise, Arizona
Managing Your Property
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to paint or not to paint

Jeff PavlikPro Member
Investor · Surprise AZ · Member since 2025 · 10 posts · 22 votes

Hi I have a question for your guys. I have a rental that is just over one year old. The first renters left marks on almost all the walls. We were able to clean them up and make it look ok. but you can still tell where we cleaned them up. The house was only painted with the normal builder grade paint. I have a new renter in the property only been there for 4 months, and before he signed said something about the paint, and we said maby in the next year we would be painting the house. he has been asking again about what can be done. I really was not planning to paint the house till after the new year or when the contract would be up. Just looking for your suggestions and input on how to handle this. 

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Mason WeissBusiness Member
Realtor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2021 · 523 posts · 239 votes
1y

Hard to know without seeing the extent of how it looks. I'd try and get a quote and see if the tenant wants to split the cost? If the tenant is great maybe do it to make them happy or add that in when it comes time to renew the lease? If you have a great tenant, keep them happy, now is not the time to easily scoop up another tenant at market rates.

[email protected]480-818-7745
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  • Jules Aton
    MD/DC · Member since 2024 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    1y

    ”Maybe” generally isn’t a way to make anyone happy and if they wanted it painted they shouldn’t have accepted that as an answer. If these are good tenants I would repaint or at the very least do  a couple of rooms that really need it. Maybe consider negotiating they add another 6 months or year to their lease? 

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  • Mason WeissBusiness Member
    Realtor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2021 · 523 posts · 239 votes
    1y

    Hard to know without seeing the extent of how it looks. I'd try and get a quote and see if the tenant wants to split the cost? If the tenant is great maybe do it to make them happy or add that in when it comes time to renew the lease? If you have a great tenant, keep them happy, now is not the time to easily scoop up another tenant at market rates.

    [email protected]480-818-7745
    2Reply
  • Travis BohlingBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Gilbert, AZ · Member since 2011 · 65 posts · 78 votes
    1y

    Tough situation caused by "maybe". 

    It's going to be a hassle for the tenant and more expensive if you try to paint an occupied home. 

    For your next vacancy, don't cut corners. Rent-ready homes attract the best tenants, who tend to stay longer, ultimately saving you money in the long run.

    [email protected]602-898-3924
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  • Patrick O'SullivanBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2024 · 540 posts · 208 votes
    1y

    Jeff, thanks for sharing the situation. Definitely a common challenge with newer rentals and builder-grade paint.

    Since you already acknowledged the issue before lease signing, it makes sense that the tenant is following up. One option might be to focus on a partial repaint, maybe just the high-traffic areas or most visibly marked walls, as a middle ground if the current condition is detracting from the overall feel of the home.

    It could also be worth framing the repaint as a lease renewal incentive down the road. If they’re otherwise a solid tenant, it might be worth investing a bit now to increase the chance of retention, especially if turnover in your area is getting costly or time-consuming.

    For future turnovers, it might help to switch to a more durable, washable paint finish to reduce this kind of wear-and-tear visibility. Builder-grade paint rarely holds up beyond the first tenant.

    Curious to hear how you decide to handle it, good luck!

    [email protected]480-795-7938
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  • Bruce WoodruffPro Member
    Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
    1y

    Good tenant? Just ok tenant? If you got a good one, I'd promise it at lease (year) renewal, and put it in writing so he feels comfortable about it.

    I feel if you have a good property and a good tenant, you should have a quality paint job.

    Hint - Use Behr 'Marquee' from Home Depot....really heavy pigment count, one coat cover (usually) and easy cleanup.

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  • Kate Sanchez
    Member since 2025 · 248 posts · 101 votes
    1y

    @Jeff Pavlik  Builder grade paint shows everything - totally normal. Many landlords wait until turnover to repaint, but you could offer touch ups or set expectations that full painting happens at lease end. Clear communication usually goes further than paint right now.

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  • Peter MckernanBusiness Member
    Residential Real Estate Agent · Irvine, CA · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    1y

    Typically there is a wear and tear of the house if they are marks done when a tenant was there for 5 or 6 years hard to charge the old tenant back, but if it was only a year it is easy to charge them out of the security deposit. 

    Since that time has passed I would paint the place for the tenant and just hit the tenants for issues when they move out and do a walkthrough in the future move outs.

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  • Ricardo R.Pro Member
    Property Manager · Michigan Ctr, MI · Member since 2016 · 663 posts · 581 votes
    1y

    @Jeff Pavlik here's the thing... your tenant signed a lease knowing full well the condition of the property before deciding to still proceed forward HOWEVER, I don't know what you told them or discussed with them at signing if you told them you would paint... then you should honor that and paint HOWEVER, if you didn't then NO you shouldn't paint it while they are there. 

    You should however, (if you didn't promise to paint) allow this and other future tenants to paint themselves, in which they are responsible for the costs of painting in addition to the cost of fixing any issues due to improper paint why? because you are just simply not going to be  able to stop them from painting... you can try to go after them but thats after the fact. Instead you need to allow for an outlet to control the outcome. 

    We run a management company and no I'm not trying to sell you anything... but here... we offer a free paint approval form... it on our website... it simply allows you as the landlord to provide it to the tenant and they input their color codes, colors etc. and then it describes the quality of what should and should not be done: https://www.g3manage.com/rental-paint-approval-form  --- there is no catch here, basically we provide this system on our webpage for free because it boosts our google ranking, but its free and theres no signup or anything funny like that. Basically, if a tenant asks to paint, you send them the link, they fill it out and once they submit you and the tenant automatically receive a copy along with a signed agreement by the tenant of how paint will be applied, what will be protected, etc. etc. -- In this manner 1) you have the color codes for future touch ups; 2) you have a binding agreement of the quality expected; 3) you're still able to approve/decline the paint colors selected. I hope this helps. 

    [email protected]810-844-1104
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