Over a series of articles we will look at some of the best ways to help landlords achieve a great look and finish for their rental properties that are long-lasting, and reduce maintenance costs in the future. Next up, decorating a rental property…

Choosing paint

While it might not save you a huge amount of money initially, choosing the right paint for your rented property can help greatly with maintenance costs in the longer term. One of the keys to good coverage and long-lasting paintwork is making sure you choose a paint that’s designed specifically for each surface – whether that’s wood, plaster, brick or tile.

Ideally you want to have a good quality undercoat, followed by several coats of a washable paint. This can save on re-decoration as walls can be washed of marks and stains rather than have to be repainted too often. Always keep a note of the colour and type of paint you use so it can be ‘touched up’ if required.

With colour, most tenants will want a blank canvas so, while you might like to experiment with tones and trends in your own home, keep your rental properties neutral. For the walls, choose something like a soft cream that has a light but warm tone and paint all your woodwork white. You can always order paint colour samples or try colour visualising apps such as Dulux Visualizer.

Painting other interior walls

In areas that are likely to experience a lot of traffic, such as hallways and stairwells, go for extra hard-wearing paint that can be easily wiped down. For other walls, use a good-quality matt emulsion and paint with the same colour throughout so you only have to keep one pot aside for touch-ups.

Painting woodwork

Although you might personally prefer an eggshell finish, it’s better to use a hard-wearing, traditional gloss for your rental property, as it’s easy to clean and is less likely to be chipped, so it will stay looking good for far longer.

Exterior paint

First impressions really do count if you want to attract the best tenants, and also can make a difference if you are having the property revalued for a new mortgage, so it’s well worth investing in some decent paint for the exterior of your property. Dulux has recently introduced a lifetime guarantee on its Weathershield masonry paint, which resists peeling, flaking and mould staining. They promise that if you experience any issues ‘for as long as you live in your home’, they will refund you the value of a replacement product.

While you clearly don’t need to spend a fortune, don’t be tempted to go for cheap paint, as it is unlikely to get good coverage and the finish may not last as long, proving a false economy in the long run, especially if you have to give a longer time between tenancies to re-decorate unnecessarily.

Bathroom paint & Kitchen paint – are they different?

With damp and mould being finable offences by local authorities, it is important to keep condensation or damp under control, especially in the kitchen and bathroom where steam and other moisture tends to collect. If your rental property is susceptible, it is worth considering a moisture-resistant or anti-mould paint, that is specially designed to last in a damp environment.

If you have a serious problem with the build up of moisture, or if your tenants are only renting individual rooms, then you may have to consider putting in a ventilation system.

If you’re a landlord and looking for help with your property maintenance Manchester based RFM Trading can help. We are professional contractors, qualified to carry out minor maintenance work, including decorating a rental property, right through to large-scale property refurbishment work. Our work comes with a 12 month guarantee and we ensure we obtain warranties on your behalf for the parts, fixtures or fittings that we install, including kitchen and bathroom suites and any inbuilt electrical appliances.

Please call us on 0161 707 6106 / 07964 552 310 or email us on sales@rfmtrading.co.uk to discuss your property project. We’d be happy to offer you some free initial advice and a quote for decorating a rental property.

Tips taken from an article by Directline For Business.