Landlord decorating guide
Decorating a rental isn't decorating a home. Different economics, different paint, different colours, and a set of rules about what you can and can't charge a tenant that catch a lot of landlords out at adjudication.
One thing first: we're decorators, not solicitors or letting agents. The deposit and wear-and-tear sections below reflect how tenancy deposit schemes generally approach these questions, but if there's real money at stake, take proper advice from your scheme or a letting professional.
How often should you redecorate?
There's no legal interval. But there's a commercial one, and there's a difference between rooms:
| Area | Realistic cycle | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Hall, stairs & landing | 3 years | Every person, every day, with bags |
| Kitchen | 3–4 years | Grease, steam, splashes |
| Bathroom | 3–4 years | Condensation |
| Living room | 4–5 years | Furniture marks, general wear |
| Bedrooms | 5+ years | Lowest traffic in the property |
| Full property | Every 3–5 years, or at changeover |
The commercial argument is simple: a tired property lets more slowly and for less. A week of void because the photos look dated costs more than the paint would have. And in a competitive Leicester rental market, the flat that shows well is the one that gets the tenant who stays.
The other trigger is the long tenancy ending. After four or five years, expect a full redecoration regardless of how careful the tenant was. That's not their failure, it's arithmetic.
What it costs
| Property | Walls & ceilings | Full repaint |
|---|---|---|
| 1-bed flat | £700–£1,000 | £1,000–£1,300 |
| 2-bed flat | £1,100–£1,450 | £1,450–£1,900 |
| 2-bed terrace | £1,400–£2,100 | £2,100–£2,900 |
| 3-bed semi | £2,400–£3,000 | £3,400–£4,400 |
| Touch-up between tenancies | £250–£600 | |
That last row is the one to build your strategy around. If you keep one consistent colour throughout the property, a changeover often needs a touch-up rather than a repaint. Over ten years and four tenancies, that's thousands.
Full detail per property type: flats, terraces, semis.
Fair wear and tear: what you can't charge for
This is where landlords most often lose at adjudication, and it's usually because of a genuine misunderstanding rather than anything dishonest.
Fair wear and tear is the normal deterioration you'd expect from reasonable use over the length of the tenancy. You can't charge for it. It's a cost of letting, in the same category as the boiler service.
| Fair wear and tear (you pay) | Potentially chargeable (they might) |
|---|---|
| Scuffs along the hallway | A wall painted purple without permission |
| Marks round switches and handles | Large holes from unauthorised fixings |
| Small picture-hook holes (if permitted) | Smoke staining where smoking was prohibited |
| Furniture marks on walls | Crayon or graffiti |
| Gradual fading | Deliberate damage |
| General grubbiness after 2+ years | Damage from a pet kept without consent |
Apportionment: the rule that surprises people
Even where damage is established beyond fair wear and tear, you generally won't recover the full cost of putting it right. Deposit schemes apply apportionment: the deduction is reduced to reflect the age and remaining life of the decoration.
The reasoning is that you can't be put in a better position than you were in. If a tenant damages five-year-old paint that was nearly due for replacement anyway, they haven't cost you a full repaint. They've cost you the remaining life.
| Age of decoration | Roughly recoverable |
|---|---|
| Under 1 year | Most of the cost |
| 2–3 years | Around half |
| 4–5 years | Little to nothing |
| Over 5 years | Generally nothing |
Those are indicative, not a formula. Schemes decide case by case. But the direction is consistent, and the practical implication is clear: if your paintwork is five years old, a damage claim is unlikely to be worth pursuing. Budget for redecoration instead.
What genuinely helps if you do claim: a dated, photographed inventory at check-in and check-out, a receipt for the last decoration showing when it was done, and evidence you raised the issue promptly.
The best paint for a rental
This is where a small extra spend pays for itself, and it's not where most landlords think.
- Hall, stairs, landing, kitchen: durable or washable matt. Scrubbable rather than lightly wipeable. Costs more per litre and reliably adds a year or two in the areas that fail first. If you spend extra anywhere, spend it here.
- Bedrooms and living rooms: standard vinyl matt. Genuinely fine. Don't pay for durable matt in a spare bedroom.
- Bathroom: a bathroom-grade or durable matt. Not silk. Silk shows every flaw and the sheen dates a room instantly.
- Woodwork: water-based satin or eggshell. Non-yellowing, unlike old oil-based gloss. Yellowed woodwork makes a whole flat look tired even when the walls are fine.
- Ceilings: standard matt. Nobody touches a ceiling.
Our finishes guide has the full picture.
The colour question
Magnolia became a cliché for a reason, and the reasoning was sound: neutral, forgiving of touch-ups, inoffensive to most people. The logic still holds. The colour has dated.
A soft modern white or warm off-white keeps every practical advantage and photographs dramatically better on a listing. In a market where tenants scroll listings on a phone, that matters more than it used to.
But the important part was never the shade. It's using one colour throughout:
- Touch-ups blend. The single biggest saving available to a landlord.
- One tin covers every room. No leftovers, no waste.
- Any decorator can match it in three years. Write the name and code inside a cupboard door. Seriously, do this. It costs nothing and saves a colour-matching exercise every single time.
- Rooms feel bigger. Consistent colour through a hallway into rooms reads as more space.
If you want a feature wall for the photos, put it in the living room only, and keep the code.
The void-week strategy
An empty property is the cheapest property to decorate, and it isn't close.
Nothing to move, nothing to cover, no working around anyone, no negotiating which room is free today. We can run rooms in the most efficient order rather than the most convenient one. The same 2-bed flat can be a full day quicker empty.
- Book the decorating for the void week, not after the new tenant moves in.
- Tell us the check-in date. We'll work to it and tell you honestly if it's not achievable rather than promise and fail.
- Send photos rather than meeting us. We quote from a room list without a visit. Several of our regular landlords have never met us.
- Bundle properties. Two flats in the same block in the same week is meaningfully cheaper than two separate visits.
HMOs and student lets
Different game. Higher wear, faster cycles, more people through the door.
- Durable matt everywhere, not just the hall. The economics change when six people share a kitchen.
- Annual touch-ups beat three-yearly repaints. Keep the code, keep a tin.
- Communal areas take the punishment. Budget the money there.
- The summer window is tight. Student changeover means everyone wants the same three weeks. Book early. Genuinely, in spring.
- Fire doors are not to be painted casually. Intumescent strips and seals must not be painted over, and the door's certification matters. If you're unsure, ask a competent person rather than assuming.
Condensation: the landlord problem
Black mould in a rental has a habit of becoming a dispute, so it's worth being clear-eyed.
Most of it is condensation, not damp: moisture from showering, cooking and drying laundry meeting a cold wall in a property that isn't ventilated enough. Painting over it doesn't work, and it'll be back by the next inspection.
The honest position: it's usually a shared problem. Tenants can ventilate better. But if the extractor doesn't work, or there's no extractor, or the trickle vents were painted shut, that's the landlord's side of it, and a decorator can't fix a fan.
We'll treat and seal mould properly as part of a job. We'll also tell you if the fan isn't up to it, because otherwise you're paying us to paint the same wall every three years.
Quote from a room list, no visit needed
Fixed price, materials in. Ideal for landlords who aren't local.
See My Price Instantly →Frequently asked questions
How often should a landlord redecorate a rental property?
Most landlords redecorate every 3 to 5 years, or at changeover after a long tenancy. High-traffic areas such as hallways and kitchens often need attention sooner, at around 3 years, while bedrooms can commonly go 5 or more. There's no legal interval, but a property that looks tired lets more slowly and for less.
Can a landlord charge a tenant for redecorating?
Not for fair wear and tear, which is the normal deterioration expected from reasonable use over the length of the tenancy. Scuffed walls after two years are a cost of letting, not a deposit deduction. A landlord can charge for damage beyond fair wear and tear, such as a wall painted a colour without permission, holes from unauthorised fixings, or smoke staining, but the deduction must be apportioned for the age and condition of the decoration rather than charged as new for old.
What counts as fair wear and tear on paintwork?
Fair wear and tear on paintwork includes general scuffing along hallways and behind furniture, minor marks around light switches and door handles, small nail holes from picture hooks where permitted, and gradual fading. It doesn't include large holes, deliberate colour changes, damage from unauthorised fixings, or staining from smoking. Deposit adjudicators apply apportionment, so a deduction on five-year-old paint will be reduced heavily even where damage is established.
What is the best paint for a rental property?
A durable or washable matt in hallways, stairs, landings and kitchens, and a standard vinyl matt in bedrooms and living rooms. Durable matt can be scrubbed rather than gently wiped, which typically extends the repaint cycle by a year or two in exactly the areas that wear first. Keeping one consistent colour throughout allows touching up between tenancies instead of full repaints.
How much does it cost to decorate a rental property?
In 2026 in Leicester, a 2-bed flat is typically £1,100 to £1,900, a 2-bed terrace £1,400 to £2,900, and a 3-bed semi £2,400 to £4,400, with materials included. An empty property between tenancies is at the lower end of every range because nothing needs moving, covering or working around.
Is magnolia still the best colour for a rental?
The logic behind magnolia was sound: neutral, forgiving of touch-ups and inoffensive to most tenants. In practice a soft modern white or a warm off-white now photographs better on listings and looks less dated, while keeping every practical advantage. The important part was never the colour itself, it was using one consistent colour throughout so touch-ups blend.