Who pays for repairs when tenant’s modification is removed?

Question: I manage an apartment community with 16 units. When one of our residents first moved into her apartment, she requested permission to install grab bars in the bathtub.

She was disabled and needed these bars to be able to use the tub. She offered to pay the installation cost. I said yes, and we noted the grab bars on the rental agreement.

Two years later, she gave her notice of termination. When we did the pre-departure walk-through, I asked her what she was planning to do about the grab bars. She said she was removing them. The next time I was in the apartment was after she had vacated, and when I looked in the bathroom, I saw four large holes in the wall where the bars had been.

Can I charge this resident’s security deposit for our cost to repair the wall where the grab bars were?

Answer: Under the fair-housing laws, tenants with disabilities should be allowed to make reasonable and necessary modifications in order to have equal enjoyment of their units. A reasonable modification is an interior or exterior structural change to existing premises. Reasonable modifications are similar to accommodations in that there needs to be an identifiable relationship between the disability and the request.

There is, however, an important difference between an accommodation and a modification. The burden of shouldering the cost for a reasonable modification will usually fall on the tenant. The same is generally true for any costs associated with maintenance and upkeep of the modification.

In this case, the issue revolves around damage caused by the removal of a modification. A tenant is responsible for restoring the area where the modification was located, if it is reasonable to do so. A tenant is not, however, obligated to pay for damage caused by general wear and tear that would come along with the modification.

Based on the facts presented, the four holes could not be deemed as reasonable wear and tear. Rather, it was damage directly caused by the installation of the handle bars and their subsequent removal. You can deduct the cost of its repair from the resident’s security deposit.

Eichner is director of Housing Counseling Programs for Project Sentinel, a mediation service based in Sunnyvale, Calif. To submit a question, go to https://www.housing.org.