Hi all - I am posting on behalf of a neighbor who lives in a rent stabilized apartment. She's been a resident for over 30 years and whenever she's needed her walls re-painted, she's purchased the paints and the landlord hired a contractor to do the work. However, recently, the landlord stated they're unwilling to use her particular paints and wants to charge her a few hundred if she insists. They're willing to re-paint using a regular, white paint that they'll supply free of charge. I wanted to ask if the past practice of the landlord being willing to use her paints without charge creates any precedent?
HCR's Fact Sheet #28 seems to indicate that tenants in rent-controlled apartments are entitled to maintaining the same color scheme in their apartments if their landlord had been doing so in the past: " The painting service which the owner is obligated to provide is based on prior practice...Past practice of the owner also dictates the color scheme." Does anyone know if these protections also apply to rent-stabilized tenants? Thank you for your help.