A Guide To Decorating Rental Properties for Landlords In Plymouth

Whether  you're considering having your property professionally decorated or doing it yourself, at least some level of redecoration is usually needed between tenancies. Hopefully, you won't need to redecorate an entire property every time a tenant moves out, unless you’ve been spectacularly unlucky!  For most rentals you can normally get away with a limited 're-fresh'. The ceilings are often fine and most walls are usually okay, but certain high traffic areas and some woodwork will normally require a freshen up. 

As a landlord, you’re constantly balancing two priorities: keeping your rental property looking smart and presentable, coupled with the need to keep costs to a minimum.  Every tin of paint you buy, every extra coat, every unnecessary “and while we’re at it job" costs money. 

Whether you decorate yourself or use a professional decorator, here is my guide to keeping your costs down:

Keep it simple: Use standardised materials throughout.

Use the same paint colour, the same trusted brand of paint and the same finish every time you redecorate an area. This will cut down on the number of coats you need to paint each time you have to refresh the property. The key is not to redecorate everything, every time, but only decorate what needs decorating.

Advice On Colours and Paint Products

Using trade quality paint seems more expensive but will save money and time in the long run. Trade paints cover in fewer coats. Go a lot further and are generally more durable and last longer. They save a lot in labour cost too as it's generally cheaper to spend a little more on paint than an extra day of wages for the painter! 

In contrast, retail paints may look appealing, but often:

• Don't cover properly

• Require more coats

• Scuff easily

• Show marks and defects more

• The colours gets discontinued

• You end up repainting whole rooms instead of just touching up individual walls

Cheap paint nearly always costs more in the long run. I wish it didn’t. But it does. 

Good-quality trade paints go further, cover better, and are generally more durable. This means that refreshing a wall may only require a single coat rather than two or three.

Did You Know

You would usually need a trade account at your local decorators merchant to get a decent discount, but trade paints can be purchased online at competitive prices even if you don’t have a trade account. Decorating Centre Online stocks a wide range at good prices. 

Keep Paint Colours Neutral and Cohesive

Neutral colour palettes can help you to create a unified look that is easy to maintain:

• • Light, neutral rooms feel fresher and cleaner.

  • Help the property feel larger

  • Create flow between rooms

  • Make the space more marketable

  • Simplify touch-ups

When every room is a different colour, the house feels segmented into small, isolated spaces. A cohesive neutral colour palette will makes the property feel calmer and more spacious, and provide an attractive backdrop for the renters own furniture.

If your rental property is a "hodgepodge" of different colours you can always choose a rolling redecoration plan in which you decide on the overall colour scheme and choice of materials, but implement it in short 'one room at a time' phases in order to maintain rental income, rather than the decorating the entire property.

Future proofing

It might be worthwhile buying more paint than you need. Having a store of surplus paint allows you (or your decorator) to:

• Touch up small areas

• Refresh between tenants quickly

• Avoid colour-matching issues

• Buying more upfront usually saves you time as well as money.

Paint isn’t getting any cheaper.

Finally,

Whether you decorate yourself or use a professional like myself, the principles are the same:

• Keep costs under control by only decorating what needs decorating

• Use the same materials and colours each time to save time and money

• Use trade quality paints for long term savings

• Choose durable, neutral styles that appeal to everyone and provide a long lasting, "bullet-proof" back drop for the tenants furniture and personal style

With the right paint system, neutral colours, and quality trade materials, you shouldn’t need major redecoration every time a tenant moves out. Small, strategic refreshes will keep your property looking clean, fresh, and professionally maintained, without unnecessary expense. This approach allows you to maintain, rather than constantly redecorate

As a decorator, I’d much rather build a long-term relationship with a landlord, carrying out sensible refreshes over many years, rather than recommend you do unnecessary work. Once a property is brought up to a good standard, it can be kept “ticking over” with small, cost-effective refreshes to keep it looking good.

Many landlords start by commissioning a small job, which offers a straightforward, low-risk way to see the standard of my work and get a feel for costs.

Tel: 07856 438741