Been renting an apartment for the past 2 months. However, not long after I moved in, the bathtub’s paint and outer surface began flaking and peeling off in big chips. It’s still pretty small; though - like only about 5% of the bathtub’s surface.
Apartment management found out about this and now they have already scheduled a whole bathtub-resurfacing with methylene chloride and various other solvents for October-11. I am not thrilled about this because I have a work from home remote job and I’d have to vacate the unit and live elsewhere, maybe an AirBnB, for a few days while the unit ventilated. To make matters worse, it appears that the apartment office will refuse to offer a discount on rent for the days that I have to live out of the unit.
What are the consequences of refusing the resurfacing and just letting the bathtub continue to peel and flake away for a while? I am only planning to live in the unit for a few more months anyway, before moving out. Is there stuff under the surface that, if exposed, would be bad to inhale or whatnot?
Is it metal, fiberglass, or plastic? Exposed steel can rust, which is both unsightly and would ruin the tub from the landlord’s perspective. Re-finishing is cheaper than replacing, and if the damaged surface leads to permanent damage I could see why the landlord would choose to prevent that, even at your inconvenience.
Paint never sticks well to plastic, my cousin did this to his tub (painted it gold) and it started flaking about 4 months after he did it, he just sanded it down a little and repainted. A tub gets a lot of use with peoples body parts rubbibng agaisnt and a daily dose of water being sprayed on it, paint just doesn’t hold up.
The sale of Methylene Chloride for paint removal is banned in the US. Maybe they still have some purchased before the ban, possibly even there could be companies certified in its use. I would rather have an ugly bathtub than an apartment full of that stuff in the air.
I’m wondering if the landlord is trying to avoid repairs and expecting the OP to say he’s ok with not having it done. Bathtubs aren’t that expensive compared to stripping and painting one. Unless they have their own maintenance staff doing this work it doesn’t make sense. And a place that had bathtubs with peeling paint is prolly not hiring the quality labor.
The consequences of refusing the resurfacing may involve your lease. It may contain a clause allowing the landlord access to make repairs and refusing access may terminate the lease but that’s really up to your landlord.
Other than that, the only other consequence seems to be aesthetics.