State Specific Question About: CONNECTICUT (CT)

Hello all,

My tenants recently moved out and when I did my walk through to check everything out I noticed that when they used baby gates it basically ruined the walls on each side. It looks like they were on a very tight setting or something.

This looks like its gonna be a pain to repair. It was also painted 13 months ago.ughhh.

When I hire someone to do the repair work do I get to choose who does the repair? Do I need to get a receipt from the handyman in the paper and forward the bill to the tenants if it exceeds the security deposit?

There is also a softball size hole in one of my bedrooms.

Noticeable stains on my carpets which are 3 years old.

How do I go out replacing all this stuff and charging the tenants? They are disputing the stains on the floors naturally. I do have pictures and they know they did it.

Choose workmen to do the repairs, pay them and get receipts, deduct from security deposit and bill tenants for any overage. If the don't pay voluntarily, take the matter to small claims court.

In CA, you are required to send receipts with the statement accounting for the SD. You'll have to check if that's required in CT, but its always a good idea.

You don't say exactly what damage was done by baby gates or bedroom. If it's just holes in the wall, those are very easy to repair and should not cost a lot.

Im not really concerned about how much it cost because I will get all the money back from the tenant-judgement in court. In fact,I prefer someone with higher prices and better quality repair as opposed to a cheap fix.

The baby gates left impressions-denting and chipped away paint in the areas on the sides of 3-4 wallas seperating the rooms.

You NEED to be concerned about how much it costs.

First, the tenant may be allowed to depreciated the bill because you got the benefit of rentable walls for 13 months. The tenant is not responsible for that.

Next, the tenant may question your good faith or reasonableness if the price is too high.

You should never work anyway with a workman that you don't have confidence will do a good job. But you need a workman that does a good job within the boundaries of prevailing prices.

Painting may be considered normal wear & tear, in this case. So be careful about how much you pay, because you may not get it all back.

I'd be concerned about how much it costs. If my tenants do damage above what I consider normal w & t, I have the work done and deduct from their security deposit. I never try to find an expensive contractor as I don't want to be challanged on my expenses. You may want to check what your State has to say about it. OR does not have a dollar limit per hour or job but the T will challenge if it is too much. Also, judgements are HARD to collect. Don't kid yourself there.

Like Moshe said, a little wall repair is pretty easy stuff. Shouldn't cost alot and if it was painted recently, your paint should match well.

the T's are very likely gonna whine no matter what.

And I thought this was about Bill Gates having a baby!

Much of this decision making/pondering by you, the residents, and possibly the judge can be totally eliminated by stating standard fees for cleaning and repairs in your lease.

Repaint a room: $235

Touch up painting: $50 per hour.

Drywall repair $50.

Our management co writes the bill for the total repair. We sub out the individual work.

BUT...ya gotta know YOUR judge as you prepare this statement to the tenant.

ALWAYS keep your turnover repair COST low because you have to pay it out and HOPE you get SOME back. Judgment does not equal payment, even with good jobs.

ALWAYS hire the repairs at wholesale and charge full full retail for repairs because your time is worth something, you can always come down but never up, and the judge might discount the amount anyway.

If someone left a quarter sized dent on the wall from a baby gate (note: NOT a hole!) then I would spackle and paint over it and not even WORRY about it...IF the rest of the place was CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN.

If you had to clean anything...I start nickel and diming. I do NOT like cleaning someone's toilet or fridge or taking out their trash, and I make this very clear on the way in and on the way out. Leave me a ready to occupy place and I won't charge you for a broken switchplate. Or a quarter sized dent in the wall.

FYI - baby gates should be very tight on the wall. I'd just have the handiman fix that and pay him an hour rate and not mention it on the list of deductions. Inflate some other repair a bit to cover.

Carpet - the stains are housekeeping. They may clean up. However that they should pay for. If the softball hole is bedroom is from punching the wall? Door knob? missing door stopper? random? Then you'll have to decide what to do about that.

If this helps: to eliminate the arguments about "I cleaned it when I moved out!", we charge a flat $200 Non-Refundable Exit Cleaning Fee. Molly Maids charges $350 for the same service.

This covers toilets, tubs, sinks, appliances, windowsills, vents, mirrors, everything "normal".

When we sign the lease, we split the deposit (example $500) into Security $300 and Cleaning $200.

This guarantees I have some money to put the shine back on the house. It was professionally cleaned before they moved in, paid by the last resident!