DH Painter & Decorator repaints rented homes in Milton Malsor for landlords and letting agents, travelling 3.2 miles south-west from our Northampton base. The village has no large lettings market, so the work is usually a one-off changeover on a single cottage or infill house, planned around what that particular building needs.
A small village, not a lettings hotspot
Milton Malsor had 761 residents in 311 dwellings at the 2011 census, and we found no published data on private renting here. The only rented housing on record is 26 sheltered flats and bungalows run by South Northants Homes. The sources record no student lets or HMOs. So landlord decorating in the village is occasional: someone letting a cottage they inherited, an infill house bought to rent, or a home between owners. We cover it from Northampton like any other job, and we’re open about what a small rural let actually needs, rather than treating it like a town flat.
Letting a listed or conservation-area home
Much of the village lies inside the conservation area, with 34-35 listed buildings. If your rental is one of them, the usual landlord shortcut of a quick magnolia repaint everywhere can do harm. Old ironstone walls with lime plaster need breathable paints. Vinyl emulsion can trap damp, and the result is flaking paint and a tenant complaint a year later. Externally, a change of colour or finish on a listed house may need listed building consent from West Northamptonshire Council. Same-colour maintenance generally does not, but check before any change.
For a period rental, we usually suggest:
- One breathable, washable neutral colour throughout, so later touch-ups match.
- Durable eggshell on cottage joinery, which is often original and costly to replace.
- A note in your records of the exact paint and colour used, so the next changeover is quicker.
Damp, mould and the rural setting
Damp is the issue most likely to come up between tenancies here. The sandy soil, the stream through The Dip and the minor flooding of 1998 mean some ground floors stay damp, and a tenant’s furniture against a cold stone wall can leave mould behind. We don’t paint over mould. It is cleaned off and treated, the cause is pointed out to you, and the wall is finished in a suitable paint. If the damp is structural, we tell you, so it can be put right before the next tenant moves in.
Outside, rented homes near the M1, A43 and the West Coast Main Line collect traffic film on doors and window frames. A wash-down at changeover keeps the frontage presentable for listing photos. Timber sashes and casements on older cottages are checked at the same time, because flaking paint on a window cill is far cheaper to deal with between lets than after rot has set in.
Infill houses let in the village are simpler. Modern plaster and standard joinery take a durable, wipeable emulsion and water-based satin, and a between-tenancy refresh usually means filling, washing down and repainting the rooms that need it, not every wall in the house. We tell you honestly which rooms can be left.
Running a changeover from a distance
If you live away from the village, the changeover can still run smoothly. Buses to Milton Malsor are limited on Sundays and weekday evenings, so key handovers need arranging in advance. We agree the scope in writing, collect keys as arranged, and send photos when the work is done. Old cottages front straight onto High Street and Green Street, so we plan parking and van unloading before the start date.
Our landlord and letting agent decorating page explains how we handle end-of-tenancy work in general, and the cost guide covers what drives the price of a changeover.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
