Landlord and HMO Decorating
Landlord and HMO Decorating Tunbridge Wells
A tenant is leaving your Tunbridge Wells rental soon.
The next one moves in on a fixed date.
This page shows what to decorate in the gap and how to plan it.
- Which Decorating Jobs Fit Between Tenants?
- What Affects the Cost of Landlord and HMO Decorating?
- Can You Decorate an HMO While Tenants Live There?
Tunbridge Wells Decorators connects people in Tunbridge Wells with a trusted local decorator. Call 01892 574490 about planning the decorating for your Tunbridge Wells HMO or rental changeover.
Why Choose Us
Why Choose Tunbridge Wells Decorators
Planned Backwards
The plan starts from the day the new tenant moves in, not from a date that suits the decorator.
Jobs Split
Must-do work and work that can wait are separated, so the move-in date is protected.
Fire Doors Handled Separately
Painting a fire door face is decorating; seals, closers and the frame stay with the person responsible for fire safety.
Quoted After a Visit
The quote follows a visit to the property and lists the rooms, shared areas, preparation, paint and any staging separately.
Decorating Jobs
Which Decorating Jobs Fit Between Tenants?
Work backwards from the day the new tenant moves in. Then split the jobs into what must be done and what can wait.
The must-do jobs are whatever a new tenant will judge on day one:
- Bedroom walls. Sound and clean.
- Kitchen and bathroom. Tidy.
- Shared areas. In the condition you normally keep them.
The jobs that can wait are worn but sound woodwork, or a change of colour that nothing depends on. Save those for a time when the property is empty for longer.
Landlords with a fixed changeover date in Tunbridge Wells often ask Tunbridge Wells Decorators to plan back from the move-in date. Starting from a date that suits the decorator is what they want to avoid.
Splitting the jobs protects your date. Trying to do everything in a short gap is how changeovers run late. If the property is being sold rather than re-let, see decorating before selling in Tunbridge Wells.
What Affects Cost
What Affects the Cost of Landlord and HMO Decorating?
Five things matter, and the first two matter most:
- Number of rooms. More rooms mean more days.
- Condition. It changes the price more than the number of rooms.
- Access. How easy each room is to reach.
- Repairs and shared areas. Both add to the job.
- Type of paint. Tougher paint costs more per tin but means fewer repaints.
A student let after a full clear-out is a different job from a professional flat with light wear. In an HMO, every room opens onto shared space. That space has to stay usable, or the work has to be planned around it.
You cannot price any of this from the number of bedrooms alone. That is why the quote follows a visit to the property. The general pricing factors are in our interior painting guide.
Paint That Lasts
Which Paint Lasts in Rentals?
It depends on the room, so the paint list is written room by room:
- Bedrooms and living rooms. Washable matt, which you can clean without leaving shiny patches.
- Kitchens and bathrooms. Paint made for damp rooms, chosen once you know why the room gets damp.
- Hallways, stairs and landings. The toughest scrubbable paint on the list, on walls and woodwork. See our guide to hallway painting in Tunbridge Wells.
Ask Tunbridge Wells Decorators to plan your Tunbridge Wells HMO decorating around the date the new tenant arrives. Call 01892 574490.
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Plan the changeover around the move-in date
How Do You Decorate Shared Areas and Fire Doors?
A fire door is not ordinary woodwork. It is a set of four parts:
- The door.
- The frame.
- The seals.
- The ironwork.
Changing any part of the set can change how well it protects the building.
So a decorating quote treats fire doors separately. Painting the face of the door is normal wood painting work. Anything that touches the seals, closers or frame is specialist work that stays with the person responsible for fire safety in the building.
Plan the shared areas around that line:
- Know which doors are fire doors. Decide this in advance.
- Keep a record. Write down what was done to each one, and what was not.
A painting and decorating company in Tunbridge Wells treats a shared HMO landing and a private bedroom as two different jobs, not one blanket finish.
Recording Condition
How Do You Record the Condition for Checkout and Handover?
Simple records prevent arguments. Three habits cover it:
- Photograph. Walls, woodwork and shared areas, before work starts and again at handover.
- Write down changes. Any change to the agreed work, with its price, as it is agreed.
- Keep a fault list. Each small fault marked open or closed.
That record gives you facts, not memories, if there is a deposit discussion. It also becomes the list of work for the next changeover at the same property.
None of this is legal advice. The records just mean everyone sees the same handover.
HMO Rules
What Do the Rules Say About HMOs in Tunbridge Wells?
Tunbridge Wells Council defines an HMO as a building, or part of one, let to three or more people from two or more households. The council also says an HMO must meet its published standards whether or not it needs a licence.
Ask the owner or manager to confirm how the property is actually lived in, rather than guessing from the address. The answer changes what work is needed.
The standards and the rules are for the council to decide. The decorating is planned from the rooms, the shared areas and the state of the property when the decorator sees it. Check your own property’s position rather than relying on a general guide.
Occupied HMOs
Can You Decorate an HMO While Tenants Live There?
Yes. Four things decide whether it can be done in stages:
- Notice. Every tenant needs proper notice of when their room and the shared areas will be affected.
- Rotating the rooms. Rooms are done in turn so the household always has a bedroom to use.
- Secure access. Agree keys, locking up and who is on site before work starts, not on the day.
- Fresh air. Keep windows open throughout, because occupied rooms cannot be aired as freely as empty ones.
Shared areas are worked on at the quietest time of day.
Speak to the decorator covering Tunbridge Wells about doing the work in stages around tenants who live there. Call 01892 574490.
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Do the work in stages around tenants
Landlord and HMO Decorating FAQs
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