Tampa, FL asked in Landlord - Tenant, Real Estate Law and Small Claims for Florida

Q: What size of "holes" in walls are considered normal wear & tear? Landlord claims we damaged/ruined walls w/ sloppy work

We used anchors to hang TVs, pictures etc. and we did our absolute best to try and patch up and paint over however each and every patch/repaint location was marked by our landlord for as he puts it "repairing all the walls that were damaged with the sloppy patching you did throughout the entire house". He received an offer to sell the house before I was able to fix the patch work/paint so someone was apparently fine with it. Yet when the deal fell thru, he has now turned around and is telling me I have to pay for it. EVEN THOUGH he had text me saying that since he got an offer, I no longer needed to do any of the work for now.

Would I be on the hook for this repair cost for patch/paint?

2 Lawyer Answers
Seril L Grossfeld
Seril L Grossfeld
Answered
  • Fort Lauderdale, FL

A: Well we don't have any statutory authority of what actually defines normal wear and tear. I would think holes in the wall would not be normal wear and tear but that depends on the overall condition and what your landlord has to do to cover up the attempted repairing of the holes. For future reference get your landlord's permission before you put holes in the walls and use the hanging devises for lighter items that are removable without leaving marks.

Bruce Alexander Minnick agrees with this answer

Bruce Alexander Minnick
Bruce Alexander Minnick
Answered
  • Landlord Tenant Lawyer
  • Tallahassee, FL
  • Licensed in Florida

A: If your former landlord can follow this logical train of thought it might suffice:

1. Your written lease contained a clause covering "ordinary wear and tear" and a clause controlling your liability to repair all damage that cannot be considered ordinary.

2. You attempted to repair the holes you made in the walls--but your efforts did not satisfy the picky landlord.

3. Before you had enough time to go back and fix your unintentional mess the landlord received an offer to buy.

4. After receiving the offer the landlord sent you a text informing you of the offer and said you did not have to come back to re-do your original efforts.

5. For reasons that are irrelevant here the buy/sell deal feel through; and so

6. The landlord has returned and expects you to fix your unintentional mess.

Initial legal conclusion: Without reading the exact language of the text it is my opinion that the landlord released you by sending the text telling you to forget it. (A verbal release would not work because it must be in writing (a text is),

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