cut and pasted from
http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/l...-deposit.shtml

Repainting walls

One approach for determining the amount that the landlord can deduct from the tenant's security deposit for repainting, when repainting is necessary, is based on the length of the tenant's stay in the rental unit. This approach assumes that interior paint has a two-year life. (Some landlords assume that interior paint has a life of three years or more.)

Length of stay

2 or more years

no deduction

Using this approach, if the tenant lived in the rental unit for two years or more, the tenant could not be charged for any repainting costs, no matter how dirty the walls were. 224



I also think you are right - not the landlord.