the place was a wreck so i took the doors off the cabinets and painted everything white to make it look nicer. i feel it makes it much better but am worried the owner will charge me or evict me. i also added some shelves and painted some of the walls. what kind of fines can i expect?
2007-07-07 18:36:21 · 12 answers · asked by Matt 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
If you made it nicer good for you, most owners that rent out wrecks tolerate maintenance well, and even appreciate it. If it is not really a wreck only in your opinion. You now have a situation. You can never move or you’ll need to restore it to its projected superior looks.
2007-07-07 22:03:56 · answer #1 · answered by Willems_grandpa 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it really depends on if they see it the way you do, as an improvement. If they do, and think the place looks nicer, they might just say thanks during the check out. If your taste isn't mainstream, and your "improvements" look to them like something harder to rent than it was when you moved in, then yes, as the others have said, you'll probably lose some or all of your deposit.
Even if they actually like the changes you made, they might be concerned about the precedent it would set with other tenants too, so if you haven't told your neighbors about it yet, don't and be sure to tell the landlord at check out time that nobody knows you did the improvements without advance permission
I am a landlord of a a bunch of single family and 2 unit properties and I am generally okay with sensible improvements like fresh pain in a neutral color etc. Removing cupboard doors and painting cabinets that had a wood finish on them would not be something I would be as happy about, unless the cabinets were in tough shape to begin with.
Good luck.
2007-07-07 18:46:41 · answer #2 · answered by John M 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You really should've asked permission first - they probably would've been happy to have you do this for free, but thats water under the bridge.
To answer your question, on one extreme they could charge you whatever it costs to have it put back the way it was before (and could even evict you if they are jerks), or they could say hey it looks great, thanks for doing this. It really depends on the landlord.
If it were me, I'd call the landlord up now and ask if you can make these improvements (keep reminding them these are improvements - not changes, improvements), don't initially tell them you already have. Hopefully they will say, sure go ahead and you are home free.
If they say no then you can just not say anything about it and hope they don't notice or care when you move out (or they othwise find out), or you can say you alrady have done it, and hope for the best.
Good luck either way but since it sounds like you did improve things, hopefully there won't be a downside.
2007-07-07 18:45:33 · answer #3 · answered by Slumlord 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Did you sign a lease? What did it say? My leases state no one can paint anything but that they can request painting and I will paint. If you break the lease, you will pay damages. Since you didn't have permission, you are wide open to charges and they can make them on the heavy side but not unreasonable. They have the right to make you pay for different cabinets if you ruined them. I would evict you too and then take you to court. It's not your property.
2007-07-07 18:53:15 · answer #4 · answered by towanda 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on the type of person your landlord is. If it was me anything you did that improved the quality of the apartmet I wouldn't care. Anything that I wanted undone I'd charge you for.
If you want to find out what would happen and be alittle sneaky about it, call up your landlord. When you get him say that you want to make some improvements to the place and ask him if you can do everything you already did and see what his reaction is. Either you'll find out that everything you did was fine and/or what you have to change back before he finds out.
2007-07-07 18:48:52 · answer #5 · answered by Joe 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should not do this without the permission, he can ask you to put everything back, as it was before, next time just offer the owner this job , most of them will even pay you for this.
Ask him now , see what he says maybe he be very happy about this, if not , say nothing and stop improving. Good Luck!
2007-07-07 18:45:18 · answer #6 · answered by reality 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That depends on what was in the contract when you first moved in. A lot of landlords have no problems with you modifying the house, but they will expect you to return it to the condition it was in when you move out.
Others require you to obtain their approval before doing anything. Still others don't want you to touch anything yourself. It all depends on what's in the contract. If there is nothing in the contract, it is pretty much up to their interpretation as far as what is to be done.
2007-07-07 18:40:38 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You have to read your lease contract. But if it is nicer I doubt that the owner will raise a claim. I hope you have pictures of before and after and prove to the judge that what you did was well intended. Best of luck
2007-07-07 18:51:03 · answer #8 · answered by gigimx 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If I was the owner, and you had not cleared it with me first - whether there were improvements or not - you would be evicted.
He could very well charge you for what he would have "fixed" to restore it, and since you didn't have permission to alter - you would have little leg to stand on in court.
2007-07-07 18:40:07 · answer #9 · answered by Mike Frisbee 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
If it didn't meet my standard and would be detrimental to the property I would evict you after a fine. I would definitely keep your deposit.
You should have asked.
2007-07-08 01:17:09 · answer #10 · answered by cowboydoc 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋