How Often Should Landlords Paint Rental Properties?

19 Dec 2019 Painting Services

Knowing how often landlords should paint rental properties will help ensure that you are properly maintaining your property to meet the residential tenancy policy guidelines in British Columbia. At Dunbar Painting, they understand how important it is to provide your tenants with a safe and comfortable environment to live in. That is why they offer a range of interior painting services that are perfect for landlords who want to freshen up their rental property between tenants.

Are Landlords Required to Paint Between Tenants?

While landlords are not required by law to paint a rental unit between tenants, they are responsible for painting the interior of a rental unit at reasonable intervals. This means that, as long as the interior paint meets all conditions for habitability (i.e. is not lead based, chipping, or peeling), the paint job does not have to be new before a tenant takes up occupancy.

Even though worn or scuffed paint is not considered a hazard and does not affect the habitability of a space, landlords should consider at the very least to have the paint touched up in the rental unit, especially if the place has been rented out for over a year.

How to Decide When to Paint a Rental Property

Since landlords are responsible for painting rental properties at reasonable intervals, it is important to find the right balance for keeping a place looking fresh without spending a ton of money every time the unit turns over. In order to determine if a rental property should be painted or not, you should:

1. Evaluate the Rental Property

Once the previous tenant has moved out, make sure to take a closer look at the rental property. When the place is completely empty, you will be able to easily assess any damage to the walls and to evaluate whether or not a room needs new paint.

2. Consider Painting High-Traffic Rooms

Since some tenants are really dirty and can leave a rental unit uninhabitable for the next tenant, consider painting the rooms that tend to have the most traffic like the kitchen or bathroom.

3. Use New Paint as a Rental Incentive

Repainting a rental property between tenants can make it a lot easier to market the place to prospective tenants. In most cases, a clean and freshly painted place will help attract better tenants for your rental space.

If you would like to learn more about how often a landlord should paint rental properties, or if you are interested in one of their interior painting services, please contact Dunbar Painting at 604-788-3382 or by filling out a contact form on their website.