Dean carries out between-tenancy and end-of-tenancy decorating for landlords, letting agents and housing providers in Overstone Leys, 4.6 miles out of Northampton on the A43. The rental stock here is young, so turnarounds focus on replacing thin builder's paint with tougher finishes and dealing with new-build cracking.
Who rents out homes here
Rented homes on Overstone Leys fall into three groups. Housing associations hold a significant share of the affordable homes: Accent Group, for example, built 19 affordable houses with Taylor Wimpey, all rated EPC B, and 93 of Taylor Wimpey’s 350 homes were set aside as affordable, 70% of them for rent. Next come private buy-to-let landlords who bought new builds from the developers. Finally there are shared-ownership households, who own part of their home and decorate it themselves. Each group comes with different rules about who does what, and the first question we ask on any enquiry is which of the three a property falls into.
| Type of let | Who decides the decoration | What it usually involves |
|---|---|---|
| Housing association affordable rent | The association, often to its own paint specification | Neutral, durable colours; specified products; void turnaround |
| Private buy-to-let new build | The landlord or letting agent | Upgrading builder’s paint; fast repaint between tenants |
| Shared ownership | The shared owner | Decoration is theirs; structural work may need consent |
The first repaint on a new-build let
On a young let, the first turnaround is usually the bigger job. The walls are still in the housebuilder’s contract emulsion, which marks easily and cannot be scrubbed, so a few years of tenancy leaves the hall, stairs and kitchen looking worn even if the tenant was careful. Washing it often makes things worse. A sealing coat followed by a hard-wearing, wipeable matt means later turnarounds can be a quick wash and touch-up rather than a full repaint.
The same visit is a good time to deal with drying-out cracks around door frames and ceiling lines, which show up early in a house’s life and are easily mistaken for tenant damage in a check-out report.
Working to a void period
Empty-property time costs rent, so we plan the job around the handover dates. A typical new-build turnaround in Overstone Leys looks like this:
- A walk-round, or photos from the agent, to note which rooms need full coats and which only need touching in.
- Filling, caulking and sanding before any paint goes on, all rooms together.
- Ceilings, then walls, then woodwork in a single colour scheme kept on record so it can be matched next time.
- Rooms left clean and ready for the inventory clerk.
Where a housing provider supplies its own specification or approved product list, we work to it. Our main landlord and letting agent decorating page covers how we report on and price rental work in more detail.
Practicalities on a growing estate
The council’s HMO Article 4 directions cover the former Northampton borough and do not name Overstone Leys, which sits in Overstone parish in the old Daventry district. Access is from the A43, and on closes with shared drives we agree van parking with the agent beforehand so neighbours are not blocked in, and we can collect keys from the agent or use a key safe on site, whichever suits the handover. Where a property backs onto a parcel still under construction, we keep windows closed during wet coats to stop dust settling. For budgeting, the decorating cost guide sets out what drives the price of a void repaint, and our Overstone Leys area page covers the housing more broadly.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
