A. I usually tell the tenant that I will enter her apartment sometime during the next couple of weeks and make a visual inspection. After I tour the apartment, I contact the tenant and give her my feedback.

As you know, you are required to maintain your apartments in a “habitable” condition. What does “habitable” mean? It means different things to different people. My definition of habitable is any condition that would generally not result in a “Notice of Violation” if the apartment where to be inspected by the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection.

If you deny the tenants legitimate request for a paint job, you have to assume that one of two things will happen: the tenant will call the Department of Building Inspection and you will be given a notice of violation and forced to paint the apartment under the City’s scrutiny and time schedule; or the tenant will petition the Rent Board for a “reduction of services” rent reduction based on the poor condition of her paint. Either way, you will end up painting the apartment.

The good news is that the Rent Board and the DBI do not generally consider old, faded or dirty walls a habitability problem. The “trigger” for a mandatory paint job is peeling paint. You will be required by the DBI to fix, repair or replace any and all peeling paint within an apartment. If your tenants’ paint is peeling, then it is better for you to proactively fix the problem.

Nobody likes to paint a tenant’s long-term, “below market” apartment. It equates to flushing money down the drain. You don’t get to petition for a capital improvement passthrough; you don’t get to raise the rent after the paint job is completed; and you will probably have to paint the apartment again when the tenant finally dies or moves out. It is all wasted money. If you definitely have to paint the apartment, your job now is simply to avoid any legal risk associated with the painting of an occupied apartment. What are the chances of you successfully painting an occupied apartment and not incurring some kind of a problem with the tenant?

I can hear it now: “You ruined my piano,” or “I was forced to breathe paint dust,” or “I want you to pay for my hotel visit while you paint my apartment.” Your likelihood of avoiding these allegations and demands will increase if you immediately deal with a tenant’s legitimate request to paint her apartment.

The best strategy is to tell the tenant you will reimburse her for costs associated with painting her apartment. Suggest that she get a bid from a capable painter, and request that she give it to you for your approval. You might ask her to deal directly with the painter as if she is spending her own money, indicating that the deal is predicated on a reasonable price for the paint job.

This way the tenant finds the painter, negotiates the contract, and pays the contractor—you are off the hook for any legal problems. Who cares how good the paint job is? It is wasted money anyway. Even if the tenant’s bid is a little higher than my usual cost, I will gladly pay it to avoid any involvement with the painting of an occupied apartment.

On a related topic, current market conditions appear to indicate more tenant turnover in the short- to mid-term. Your average tenancy term might fall during this time. This means more painting, cleaning and the general polishing of vacant units.

It is particularly important in this environment to use the SFAA “move in/move out form” for new tenants. This document will help prevent misunderstandings with tenants about paint job repairs and other maintenance items charged to the tenant when they vacate the apartment.