Conflict over terms in lease

[PittaNCheese]

I have given notice to vacate a rented property. I've lived her circa. 16 months.

The Landlord has sent me an email, requiring that I: "Redecorate the entirety of the interior of the property, with at least 2 coats of paint, in a professional manner". Not for any particular reason by the way (the house has been kept in good order an the Landlord has always been happy with it). But just becasue I'm leaving.

The whole house is currently magnolia, and was when I moved in. I don't have the funds (or time) to redecorate a whole house before I move out. I did replace all the carpets though, with the Landlord's prior written agreement

I've looked through my tenancy agreement, and the obligation stated there is: "during the Redecoration Period decorate the parts of the Property identified in Part 2 as being the Tenant's responsibility to a reasonable standard using colours approved in writing in advance by the Landlord."

The "Redecoration Period" is defined as the last 12 months of the tenancy, which was a 6-month AST.

My interpretation is that the house should be "decorated". There's no obligation to completely re-paint the whole place. If I had doodled all over the walls or painted the ceilings purple, then obviously there would be an obligation to re-paint. But I haven't.

Not exactly sure where I stand...?

[Celestine]

Under what clause in the agreement did you replace all the carpets?! (At your expense?)
Umm Ive never seen a clause like this meaning you need to redecorate the whole property. I can only interpret this as relevant if the walls have become chipped, dirty, damaged that redecoration would be required. To say the least, they are being cheeky. Is there a letting agent involved?

[PittaNCheese]

Thanks for the reply.

Re: the carpets. I didn't like the ones the Landlord had put down, and carpets fall under the "tenant responsibilities" so hence I was the one who had to replace them. I didn't switch out the underlay.

There is no letting agent. I rent from a large charity with a huge stock of housing numbering in the hundreds if not thousands of properties, and there's an "Lettings Manager" that I liaise with directly.

:-)