Must a departing Saudi tenant pay to repaint the whole apartment?

Assess repainting and deposit deductions against move-in condition, ordinary wear and itemised repair costs.

Sources reviewed

Compare move-in and move-out condition

The tenant returns the premises in their original received condition allowing for ordinary use. Damage attributable to misconduct or neglect is compensable. With several tenants, each answers for damage caused by their own conduct. Assess each disputed area and the cause of its change. [1]

Test the scope of repair

Photograph each wall in comparable light. Distinguish gradual fading from anchor holes or water staining already reported. Ask the painter why the entire room needs repainting, when it was last decorated and what each room would cost separately. If the court appoints an expert, ask it to define the technical question in the order. The expert can compare check-in and return photographs with the age of the fitting and cost the damage attributable to misuse. [3]

Reconcile the exit account

Attach entry photographs to the handover record and identify agreed and disputed items. For a deposit deduction request an account linking each charge to an image and invoice, with the remaining balance stated. Early maintenance tickets can help reconstruct condition if entry photos are missing.

Temporal scope · 2026-10-30

The Law took effect 180 days after official publication. It generally reaches earlier events, except where a party invokes a conflicting pre-existing statutory rule or judicial principle applicable to the event, or a claim-barring period had already started. Separate registration and jurisdiction requirements still apply. [2]

Sources

  1. نظام المعاملات المدنية | Civil Transactions Law 430, 435(1)
  2. مرسوم الإصدار ونفاذ النظام · Enacting decree and commencement Royal Decree M/191, clauses IV–V; Civil Transactions Law, art. 721
  3. نظام الإثبات | Evidence Law 110–111

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