Comments on: Patching Up Those Holes in your Apartment Walls

By: chrisbenthal

chrisbenthal — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:50:29 +0000

California landlord/tenant laws cover these issues.

A percentage of the cost to repaint can be charged to the tenant based on how long they lived there.

Also, a landlord can charge if there was damage (holes in the wall) that made repainting necessary.

You state that you patched the holes, but if you did a poor job of patching, then the landlord has every right to redo the substandard repair at your cost.

As far as carpet cleaning, if you left the carpet dirty, the landlord can charge you for restoring it to the condition upon move in.

By: jgregb1980

jgregb1980 — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:02:54 +0000

I agree there is no law I've heard of that makes painting by the landlord a requirement. I'd be very interested to see what Melissa refers to. However, most courts I've seen will not find in favor of a landlord for paint costs if the tenant has been in residence a year or more unless:

1. The tenant made unauthorized alterations to the paint

2. The tenant painted and the job was so poor that the landlord incurred more than his normal expense to re-paint

3. Abuse or excessive wear and tear such as holes, gouges, pen/pencil/crayon marks, large numbers of nail holes or oversized nails/expanding screws/anchors.

One more thing – filling nail holes SOUNDS like a good idea – but often it isn't. I've seen many walls that would not have needed paint except for a well-meaning tenant who left bright white spackle spots the size of a half dollar all over the place…..

By: cyrontae1110

cyrontae1110 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:59:44 +0000

to to the local hardware store and ask them for a piece of scrap drywall slightly larger than the size of the hole and some drywall compound.. if the hole is jagged, use a knife to make it even. then cut the new piece of drywall so that it fits snugly into the hole. tape it down (you can use drywall tape but it's an apartment so masking tape will work just as well), and spread the compound over it. let it dry compleatly and sand it smooth. if it is a large hole you can buy some expanding foam to fill the gap in the wall behind the hole, but do not patch the drywall until the expanding foam is hard because it may overexpand and will push the patch out.

By: 26Deacon

26Deacon — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:35:23 +0000

ha ha im betting u probably aint got no job or may be got one & not makin shit & still gotta live with mommy & daddy in NY. lol!

By: hope4702

hope4702 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:38:52 +0000

By: ∙:♪

∙:♪ — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:38:25 +0000

By: 26Deacon

26Deacon — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:05:16 +0000

i think we’re actually wealthier than LA right now cause LA’s unemployment rate is higher than Chicago’s & they dont have federal reserves & futures stock exchanges like we do. hollywood can only do so much for LA but right now not enough.

By: Margo

Margo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:53:49 +0000

Use a lightweight spackle and a putty knife. Holes that large may take more than one coat, but will dry to a nice finish. Good luck.

By: LucasEllerNewYork

LucasEllerNewYork — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:13:30 +0000

I used Wikipedia as data source for the GDP comparison between LA and Chicago. LA has a 179 billion dollars higher GDP than Chicago. It may change within a year, but not so likely. I used to travel to Chicago a lot, for business, pleasure and… well… I was in and out of love with someone there… lol… 7 years ago. I thought it was yesterday… lol.
What do you do in Chicago? What kind of work? Involved with performing arts somehow?

By: 26Deacon

26Deacon — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:47:17 +0000

CHI-TOWN sure sounds better than the BIG ROTTEN APPLE.