DH Painter & Decorator handles end-of-tenancy and between-tenancy decorating for landlords and letting agents in Spinney Hill, NN3, the north-east Northampton district inside the borough-wide HMO Article 4 area. Dean works on the area's 1930s-1950s semis, self-contained annexes and apartments, and arranges access through the agent where needed.
Spinney Hill’s rental mix is hard to pin down
We have not found any lettings data specific to Spinney Hill, so we won’t pretend to know how many homes here are rented. What we do know is the type of property a landlord here is likely to own: a three- or four-bedroom bay-fronted semi from the 1930s to the 1950s, sometimes with a rear extension or a self-contained annexe, or an apartment in Manfield Grange. Each one needs a different approach to end-of-tenancy decorating, so this page goes through them in turn. The general approach for rental decorating, including finishes, neutral colours and stain treatment, is on our main landlord and letting agent decorating page.
Getting a family semi ready to relet
A semi let to a family takes wear in predictable places. In the through lounge-diner, the long walls get furniture marks and the bay picks up condensation stains around the window. The hall and stairs get scuffed by bags and bikes, and bedroom walls show where furniture and posters were. A between-tenancy repaint here usually means:
- washing and spot-priming marks so they don’t bleed through the new paint;
- a scrubbable matt on walls in the hall, lounge-diner and kitchen, so the next tenant’s marks can be wiped off;
- satin on skirtings and doors, which is quicker to touch up at the next check-out than gloss;
- one neutral colour throughout, so later touch-ups come from the same tin.
Most of these houses have front driveways, which matters when work has to fit into the gap between tenants. We can park at the house and bring materials straight in instead of carrying them along Kettering Road.
Annexes let as separate homes
Some semis in the area have a self-contained annexe at the back. Let separately, it is effectively a small one-bedroom home with its own kitchen and shower room, and those rooms are where tenant check-out reports usually find mould and peeling paint. We treat any mould, then use kitchen and bathroom grade paint on the walls and ceilings. Because the annexe is used daily as a separate household, check-out reports often note scuffed door frames and worn paint around light switches too, so those get filled and repainted at the same time. If the annexe has its own entrance by the side gate, we can decorate it without disturbing whoever lives in the main house.
Apartments in a listed building
The old Manfield Orthopaedic Hospital became the Manfield Grange apartments in the early 2000s. The building is Grade II listed, and the listing covers interior features such as panelling and plasterwork. If you let a flat there, check with the managing agent which surfaces are original before booking a repaint. Plain modern walls can usually be refreshed as normal, but original joinery and decorative plaster may need consent and traditional finishes, so they can’t simply get the rental-standard paint used elsewhere.
Thinking of converting to shared housing?
Northampton’s HMO Article 4 directions apply across the whole of the former borough, including Spinney Hill, so turning a family house into even a small house in multiple occupation needs planning permission. Sort that out with the council before booking decorating for a conversion. Once a conversion is approved, the shared hallways and kitchens need tougher finishes than a single-family let. Our Spinney Hill area page describes the local housing in more detail, and the cost guide explains what affects the price of a rental repaint.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
