Moving out of my long term lease in Buenos Aires and the owner wants to charge me 500,000 pesos for painting

[Cricket]

I just found this website. Quick question. I have had a long term lease in Retiro for about 2 years and my lease is ending. I left a damage deposit of 1 month which was about $600 dollars.

I took excellent care of the apartment and no damage but I did hang up artwork around the apartment. I had about 20 nail holes on some of the walls which I did fill with putty and painted with some white paint. The problem is that the paint is newish and whiter than the paint on the walls.

The owner is arguing that he can't leave it like that for a tenant. He is saying that he only expects me to return the apartment like I got it.

I don't want to be unreasonable but it seems like $600 dollars to repair this and paint is excessive. What do you think? I don't want to paint as I have a bad back. But is this fair? It doesn't seem like it to me.

 

[Betsy Ross]

The owner is correct. You could have just not put stuff up or used hangers that don't have holes in the wall but if you repainted and the paint doesn't match this is normal. I learned this the hard way when I moved down to BA before I bought mine. Same thing happened.

$600 is actual reasonable these days to paint an entire apartment. Even if it's a studio. I recently had a few rooms painted and I was shocked how expensive painting has become. I paid more than this for 2 bedrooms.

 

[Wally]

Agree with Betsy. It is reasonable to expect to pay if you changed the paint color. They will need to have it in ready condition for the new tenant not mismatched paint. We own another rental property and we often go through this exercise. They always complain and we tell them they can find their own painter or do it themselves. The problem is if you paint one wall it may not match the other walls after.

Many painters won't come out for just really tiny job. Many come from far away and don't want to lug around stuff for only a tiny job. That seems fair what they are charging you. How big is the apartment? What does your contract say?

 

[JeffR]

How much of that would be paint? Paint here is actually not cheap. If he is giving you the option to paint it yourself you could or find someone else if you think you can do cheaper. I don't know enough to know if that is cheap or expensive but doesn't seem bad for materials and labor to paint an entire apartment for $600 bucks.

 

[jbeas176]

how many walls are effected? we used to find a place to get a sample, take to the paint store and tell them to eye match
the paint. a good place to get a sample is in a closet. 2” x 2”. if it’s close enough just cut into the corner. you won’t be able to tell just don’t try to touch up in the middle of the wall. if you a satin paint you can just clean the other walls with soap and water. if i were you i just walk away from the deposit. for long term rentals there’s a thing called normal wear and tear.

 

[jbeas176]

in the usa the owner usually expects to repaint it himself

 

[Cricket]

Wow I guess I am sorry I asked! I don't think it is reasonable for me to have to pay $600 for a few nail holes. Like I said, I can't do it myself as I have a bad back.

The owner is correct. You could have just not put stuff up or used hangers that don't have holes in the wall but if you repainted and the paint doesn't match this is normal. I learned this the hard way when I moved down to BA before I bought mine. Same thing happened.

$600 is actual reasonable these days to paint an entire apartment. Even if it's a studio. I recently had a few rooms painted and I was shocked how expensive painting has become. I paid more than this for 2 bedrooms.

This is the consensus I am getting that the price isn't bad which makes me feel better. I don't have any clue how much paint costs here or how much paint it will take.

Agree with Betsy. It is reasonable to expect to pay if you changed the paint color. They will need to have it in ready condition for the new tenant not mismatched paint. We own another rental property and we often go through this exercise. They always complain and we tell them they can find their own painter or do it themselves. The problem is if you paint one wall it may not match the other walls after.

Many painters won't come out for just really tiny job. Many come from far away and don't want to lug around stuff for only a tiny job. That seems fair what they are charging you. How big is the apartment? What does your contract say?

It is a 50 m2 studio apartment. He is just charging me for the walls in that room so they match. He did offer to have me find someone else and he would use the money if I can find someone for cheaper. But I don't know anyone. I tried to get someone to look at it and they never showed up! Frustrating.

how many walls are effected? we used to find a place to get a sample, take to the paint store and tell them to eye match
the paint. a good place to get a sample is in a closet. 2” x 2”. if it’s close enough just cut into the corner. you won’t be able to tell just don’t try to touch up in the middle of the wall. if you a satin paint you can just clean the other walls with soap and water. if i were you i just walk away from the deposit. for long term rentals there’s a thing called normal wear and tear.

There are 4 walls that had nails in them. I already painted over the nail holes and they don't match the color. Over 2 years with the amount of pollution the walls are a different color now. We had an agreement that I would return it in the same condition it was. I guess I will just walk away and let him handle this. He gave me a few weeks to figure it out.

Thank you everyone. It sounds like I am stuck.

 

[Wally]

in the usa the owner usually expects to repaint it himself

Nothing works here like the USA. Or at least almost nothing. Painful here

 

[earlyretirement]

Totally agree with all the others @Grasshopper.

That actually isn't a bad price at all. Typically you always have to return it in the same condition as you got it. I own a lot of real estate and usually I don't charge people after a long term lease but I ran into exactly the same thing recently in Mexico where the tenant put a lot of holes in the walls. The same thing, we offered them to repair it or find someone themselves to do it.

Most owners aren't doing this out of spite or to profit from it. You are actually fortunate. I've seen some nightmare scenarios in BA.

The cost of paint and labor these days is not that cheap plus any ladders or items they might need to transport. This seems reasonable.