A Landlord’s Guide to Painting Between Tenancies

A landlord painting between tenants is dealing with a different job entirely to a homeowner redecorating at their own pace, and treating the two the same way usually ends up costing more in lost rent than it saves on the painting bill. Timing and turnaround matter here more than almost anything else.

The core challenge is simple to state and harder to solve: a property that sits empty between tenants earns nothing, so every extra day of decorating work is a day of lost rent, yet skipping proper preparation to save time tends to show up as complaints and deposit disputes with the very next tenant. Getting the balance right, fast without being careless, is really the whole job.

Why Turnaround Speed Matters So Much

For an owner-occupier, a decorator taking an extra day or two rarely matters. For a rental property between tenancies, it can be the difference between a smooth handover and a week of lost income, particularly if a new tenant is already lined up with a fixed move-in date.

This is why landlord jobs need realistic scheduling agreed upfront, including what happens if unexpected damage is found once furniture is moved out. A wall that looked fine during a walkthrough with furniture against it can turn out to need significant repair once it is empty.

Booking Ahead of the Void Period

Where possible, agreeing a provisional date as soon as notice is given, rather than waiting until the property is actually empty, tends to compress the void period significantly. A decorator who can start the morning keys are handed back, rather than being booked a week later, can easily save several days of empty-property costs.

What Typically Needs Doing Between Tenancies

Scope varies a lot depending on how the previous tenancy went, but common jobs include touching up scuffed walls and skirting, dealing with nail holes and picture hook damage, refreshing high-wear areas like hallways and kitchens, and occasionally a full repaint if the previous tenant smoked indoors or the walls have simply had several tenancies’ worth of wear.

“Landlords who keep on top of touch-ups between every tenancy, rather than waiting for one big repaint every few years, almost always spend less overall and have an easier time with each changeover.”
Harry Jones, Owner, HJ Painters & Decorators

That regular touch-up approach also spreads cost more evenly across the year rather than landing as one large bill whenever a property finally looks tired enough to need attention, which many landlords managing tight rental margins genuinely prefer.

Durable Finishes Worth the Extra Cost

For rental properties specifically, it is often worth spending slightly more on a wipeable, durable paint finish rather than the cheapest option, since the wall will likely be cleaned and touched up repeatedly over several tenancies. A slightly tougher finish that survives light cleaning without marking tends to work out cheaper across multiple tenancies than repeatedly repainting a budget finish.

Managing Access and Communication

Void period jobs often involve coordinating with letting agents, outgoing tenants collecting final belongings, and sometimes contractors doing other work simultaneously such as carpet cleaning or minor repairs. Clear communication about who holds keys and when access is available prevents a surprising amount of wasted time on site.

Harry notes that this coordination is often the actual bottleneck, not the painting itself: “We can usually turn a flat around quickly once we are in and working. The delays almost always come from access issues, not the job itself taking long.”

Working Around Furniture and Fixtures

Furnished rentals add another layer of complexity, since furniture either needs moving and covering or the decorator needs to work carefully around it, both of which take longer than an empty room. Agreeing in advance whether furniture will be cleared before the decorator arrives, or left in place and worked around, avoids confusion and wasted time on the day itself.

A Note on Deposit Disputes

Fresh, professional paintwork also plays a quiet role in deposit disputes. A property that is clearly well maintained, with even, consistent decoration, gives a landlord a much stronger position if a genuine dispute arises over damage compared with one where it is hard to tell what counts as fair wear and tear against pre-existing poor condition.

Budgeting Ahead Rather Than Reacting

Landlords who ask for a rough costing before notice is even served, based on the property’s likely condition, tend to make faster decisions once a tenancy actually ends. Waiting until the property is empty to start getting quotes adds days onto a void period that could often have been avoided with a bit of advance planning.

It also helps to agree in advance what counts as reasonable wear and tear versus tenant damage, since that affects who pays for what, and having a decorator who can give an honest, itemised view of a property’s condition is useful evidence either way. This matters more than people expect when a deposit dispute actually goes to adjudication.

Seasonal Timing for Larger Jobs

If a property needs more than a touch-up, ideally that work gets scheduled for a quieter point in the rental calendar rather than squeezed into an already tight void period. Landlords managing multiple properties often stagger larger repaints across quieter months specifically to avoid several units needing full attention at once.

Multiple Properties, Consistent Standards

Landlords managing several properties benefit from a consistent decorator relationship rather than shopping around for a new quote every time, since a decorator who already knows the properties can often turn work around faster and flag issues, such as damp or subsidence cracking, before they become expensive problems.

We work with landlords and letting agents across Bury St Edmunds and Suffolk on both single-property turnarounds and ongoing portfolios, with scheduling built around minimising void periods rather than around our own convenience. Our Commercial Painting & Decorating page covers commercial and landlord work in more detail, or you can get a free quote to discuss timing for an upcoming changeover.

If you are budgeting across a wider refurbishment, our guide to Painting Costs in Bury St Edmunds: What to Expect covers the factors that typically drive painting costs up or down.