We decorate rental homes in Greens Norton for landlords and letting agents, mainly repaints between tenancies. The village is 8.5 miles south-west of Northampton and just over a mile from Towcester, and its lets range from 17th- and 18th-century stone cottages to 20th-century houses, which need quite different paint systems.
The rental picture in a small stone village
We haven’t found published figures for the private rented sector in Greens Norton, so we won’t guess at how many homes are let. What is clear from the village’s buildings is that any rental property here will fall into one of two groups. Either it is an older cottage of limestone and ironstone rubble on a street such as High Street, Bengal Lane or Blakesley Hill, many of them listed, or it is one of the 20th-century houses built later. A landlord’s decorating plan should start from which of those two it is.
The distinction matters more in Greens Norton than in a town of post-war semis, because the stone core of the village is so old. The dated cottages on Blakesley Hill go back to 1694, and a beam inside No. 4 is dated 1654. A quick refresh that suits a modern house can do real harm in a building of that age if the wrong paint goes on.
Turning round a let cottage without damaging it
The usual rental approach is a single tough, wipeable vinyl emulsion everywhere, because it scrubs clean and touches up easily. On the solid stone walls of a 17th- or 18th-century cottage that can backfire. Rubble walls take in moisture and need to let it out again. Seal them with a plastic-film paint and the damp has nowhere to go, so paint starts to bubble and flake, often within a tenancy or two. A tenant then reports damp, and the landlord ends up paying twice.
For let cottages we use breathable emulsions on the solid walls, which still clean reasonably well and can be touched up between tenancies. Stud partitions, ceilings and any modern extension can take a harder-wearing standard finish. Small details matter in these houses too:
- Plank doors and old skirtings get scuffed at the bottom edge; a durable water-based satin keeps touch-ups quick.
- Exposed beams should be protected, not painted, when rooms are freshened up.
- Low attic rooms under the roof slope need careful cutting in, which affects the time a turnaround takes.
- On listed cottages, keep to like-for-like finishes. Changing finishes on the listed fabric can need consent, so check with West Northamptonshire Council first.
Modern rentals: quick, neutral and hard-wearing
Greens Norton’s 20th-century houses, and the red-brick additions on some cottages, have plastered walls that suit the standard rental formula: fill, sand, wash down, and two coats of a durable neutral emulsion on walls and ceilings, with satinwood on the woodwork. Keeping to one or two neutral colours across the property means future touch-ups match without repainting whole rooms. On a between-tenancy visit we will tell you which rooms need full coats and which only need attention in the worn spots.
Keys, access and timing
For agents managing a property here from Towcester or Northampton, we can collect and return keys and report back with photos when the work is finished. Cottage rows such as 2 to 8 Blakesley Hill often have little or no rear access, so we bring materials through the front and work around neighbours’ parking. Let us know the dates of the outgoing and incoming tenancies early, so we can plan the work for the void period.
For our standard rental decorating approach, see the landlord and letting agent decorating page. Our painter and decorator cost guide explains what affects the price of a repaint, and our Greens Norton page covers our other work in the village.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
