We had just redecorated a flat for our first tenant. Freshly painted , new kitchen items and extractor fans. After the first one year tenancy the flat felt grimy and the paint was slightly yellowed.
We couldn’t figure out what the tenant could be doing. It’s like cigarette smoke but there is no smell - then the penny dropped - we think it was heavy vaping.
The extractor fans were also filthy, and one has even started whining already. These were installed brand new a year ago.
Unfortunately, none of this was highlighted in the checkout , and the AST only prohibits smoking and compensation for “nicotine” stains - So I guess we won’t be re-imbursed for costs this time but will make sure the next AST is updated accordingly.
It’s not nicotine that stains, it’s colourless. It’s the tar in the smoke that causes staining .
Vape fluid must contain a component that causes staining.
It may not be that he was doing it in the flat . It’s the fact he does it at all.
Smokers, that only smoke outside, rooms go black very quickly, they are breathing in that room and that’s what comes out of their lungs .
I’ve needed to redecorate at 5 months after a tenant left.
Since then , we have included it in the contract ;if walls are stained due to these chemicals ( vaping or smoking ) then they will be charged for redecoration at the end of tenancy as it’s not fair wear and tear vs a non smoker.
They used to put pictures of lung cancer lungs on cigarette packets as a deterrent
It never worked
Unfortunately if they are heavy smokers you are inhaling all of that substance passively as a non smoker
I also learned that you can get copd if you have been burning coal and wood in your home too