Wall Damage and Painting: Tenant vs. Landlord Responsibility

Your landlord pays to repaint and patch walls worn by age and ordinary use, and you pay for damage beyond that, such as large holes, crayon marks, or a color you painted without permission. State habitability rules, such as California's, cover health and safety rather than looks, but some cities set a schedule: New York City requires owners of buildings with three or more apartments to repaint each apartment every three years. At move-out, California's state tenant guide says a landlord can generally charge you for repainting only when damage, or dirt that cannot reasonably be cleaned, made it necessary, and it suggests the charge fall to zero once you have lived in the unit for two years.

How often does your landlord have to repaint?

California's tenant guide says a rental does not violate the duty of habitability just because it is not in perfect, aesthetically pleasing condition, so dated or dull paint is not a defect you can force a landlord to fix under that rule. Peeling or chipping paint is different, because in an older building it can be a lead hazard, covered in the last section below.

New York City sets a schedule in section 27-2013 of its Housing Maintenance Code, which HPD, the city's housing agency, enforces:

• Buildings with three or more apartments: the owner must repaint or re-cover the walls and ceilings of each occupied apartment every three years, and more often if a contract or another law requires it.
• Rented one- and two-family homes: the owner must repaint whenever HPD decides it is needed to keep the walls and ceilings sanitary.
• Putting off a repaint: you and the owner can agree to delay it for up to two more years, but only in a separate agreement signed no earlier than one month before the three-year period ends. It cannot be written into your lease.
• Walls you made dirty: if the walls become unsanitary within three years of the owner's last paint job, HPD can order you to repaint unless you show it happened through no act or neglect of yours, your family's, or your guests'.

According to the city's Rent Guidelines Board, New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) says an owner can pass the cost of painting on to you only if you ask for something special, such as a particular brand or color, or if you damaged the unit in a way that requires painting. If a New York City owner misses the three-year cycle, ask in writing first, then file a complaint with HPD by calling 311 or using 311Online.

Where no local rule applies, ask before you sign when the unit was last painted and whether the landlord repaints between tenants, and get any promise to repaint written into the lease. For upkeep the lease may assign to you, see maintenance tasks that are your responsibility.

Do you need permission to paint?

Painting changes the unit, so read your lease's clause on alterations or decorating and get the landlord's permission in writing before you buy supplies. Without approval, the color itself can be treated as damage: the Northwest Justice Project, a Washington legal aid group, lists an unapproved paint color as damage rather than normal wear, and California's tenant guide says a landlord can keep deposit money when you made alterations and did not return the unit to its original condition.

Ask the landlord to confirm in writing:

1. Which rooms you may paint and which colors are allowed.
2. Whether you must repaint the original color before you move out.
3. Who may do the work, and what preparation is required if the building was built before 1978.

Keep the receipts and the paint color codes, and take dated photos of the finished walls.

Nail holes, scuffs, and fading: wear or damage?

Normal wear and tear, the decline that comes from ordinary use, is the landlord's cost. Damage beyond that can come out of your security deposit. The Northwest Justice Project and California's tenant guide sort common wall problems this way:

California's guide also counts removing decals from walls as a cleaning cost a landlord can deduct. For carpet, floors, and fixtures, see our guide to normal wear and tear versus damage.

How the age of the paint job limits what you pay

Interior paint wears out on its own, so a landlord should not bill you the full price of a repaint the unit was due for anyway. California's tenant guide suggests a scale that assumes interior paint lasts two years and bases the charge on how long you lived there: the full cost if you leave within 6 months, two-thirds from 6 months to 1 year, one-third from 1 to 2 years, and nothing after 2 years. The guide notes that some landlords assume paint lasts three years or more, that its suggestions are not hard and fast rules, and that a charge for holes is more likely to be proper when the unit was painted recently.

Worked example: the landlord repainted just before you moved in. You move out after 10 months, and the living room needs patching and repainting because of dozens of anchor holes. The painter charges $900 to repaint the room.

1. Length of stay: 10 months, which falls in the 6-months-to-1-year band.
2. Share of the cost the scale allows: two-thirds.
3. Most the landlord should deduct for repainting: $900 x 2/3 = $600.

If you had stayed 14 months, the same scale allows $900 x 1/3 = $300. After 2 years it allows no repainting charge, although filling large holes can still be billed as damage.

Colorado sets a firmer limit for deposits. Since January 1, 2026, a landlord there can keep deposit money for repainting the whole interior only if the paint throughout the unit has substantial damage beyond normal wear and tear that was not there before your tenancy. Otherwise it can charge only for repainting the portions of the walls or ceilings with that kind of damage.

Before you accept a repainting charge, ask for the date of the last paint job and the painter's invoice. Our guide to security deposit deductions explains how to dispute an itemized charge.

Lead paint precautions in pre-1978 buildings

EPA says about three-quarters of U.S. homes built before 1978 still contain some lead-based paint, and that sanding, scraping, or cutting old paint can create lead dust and chips that harm children and adults. If your rental was built before 1978:

• Ask before you prepare any walls. Tell the landlord you want to paint and ask whether a certified lead inspector or risk assessor has tested the surfaces, which is the step EPA recommends before work in an older home.
• Use lead-safe methods if you paint yourself. EPA's do-it-yourself guidance includes moving furniture out and covering floors with plastic sheeting, misting surfaces before scraping or sanding, using wet-dry sandpaper, keeping any heat gun below 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit, and cleaning up with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) vacuum and wet wiping.
• Expect a certified firm and renovator for covered work. EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule generally applies when your landlord or property manager does work that disturbs paint. Minor repairs disturbing six square feet or less of paint per interior room are exempt, unless they involve window replacement, demolition of painted surfaces, or prohibited work practices. Covered work requires a lead-safe certified firm and an assigned certified renovator. Other workers can receive documented on-the-job training and work under that renovator's direction without individual certification. The firm must give you EPA's Renovate Right pamphlet no more than 60 days before the work begins. Stay out of the work area while the job is underway.
• Report peeling paint in writing. In New York City, HPD always checks for peeling paint during a complaint inspection when a child under 6 lives in the unit or spends 10 or more hours a week there.

Our guide to lead paint protections for tenants covers the disclosure rules and voucher housing requirements, and how to report maintenance issues shows how to put a repair request in writing.