We repaint rental properties in Queen's Park, NN2, for landlords and letting agents, 1.3 miles up the A508 from Northampton town centre. Dean works to an agreed schedule between tenancies, uses wipeable finishes and provides a free written quote.
The rental stock in Queen’s Park
Lettings in Queen’s Park come from two kinds of property. The first is the late Victorian terrace: two storeys, a bay-fronted lounge, a separate dining room, an entrance hall and an enclosed rear garden, with some running to four bedrooms. The second is the flat, whether in a modern block or in one of the conversions on Kingsthorpe Road, such as the former Primrose Hill Congregational Church, converted in 2005. Each needs a different approach at the end of a tenancy.
A terrace has more of everything: more rooms, more original woodwork and older plaster that tends to crack between lets. A flat is smaller and quicker inside, but comes with shared entrances and a managing agent’s rules.
HMO controls and what they mean for the paint
The whole of the former Northampton borough is covered by Article 4 Directions that removed permitted development for small HMO conversions, and the latest has been in force since November 2020. Turning a family house into a shared house now needs planning permission, so a Queen’s Park rental is usually either a single let or an HMO that is already licensed. Licensed HMOs carry their own standards for communal areas and fire doors. If yours is one, tell us at the quote and we’ll paint fire doors without clogging intumescent strips or interfering with self-closers.
Either way, the specification comes down to finishes tenants can wipe without lifting the paint, and colours that can be touched up next time without repainting the whole room.
| Area | Finish we’d usually suggest | Reason in a Queen’s Park let |
|---|---|---|
| Hall and stairs | Scrubbable durable matt | Narrow terrace halls take bags, bikes and moving-day knocks |
| Kitchen and bathroom | Kitchen and bathroom emulsion | Rear rooms in older terraces can run cool and gather condensation |
| Bedrooms and lounge | Durable matt in one neutral | One colour across rooms means one tin for future touch-ups |
| Doors, skirtings, sashes | Water-based satin | Quick drying, stays white, keeps the turnaround short |
Turnaround with street parking and no rear access
Void days cost money, so we agree the order of work and a finish date with you or the agent before the tenant leaves. Queen’s Park terraces depend on on-street parking, and many mid-terraces have no route to the garden except through the house, so kit comes in through the front, carpets that are staying get protected, and we work from the back of the house towards the front door. The property is then ready for the inventory clerk and listing photos without a last-minute clear-up.
If the agent can hold the keys and give access, you don’t need to attend. We’ll flag anything we find that isn’t decorating, such as damp patches or failed sealant, so you can deal with it before the next tenant moves in.
Communal areas in converted buildings
In the conversion flats, entrance halls and stairwells are usually looked after by a managing agent. Those spaces need working times that suit residents, signs on wet paint and a clear route kept open.
More on how we run rental work is on our landlord and letting agent decorating page. Our cost guide sets out the factors behind the price of a between-tenancy job, and our Queen’s Park page covers the district as a whole.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
