Dean decorates rental homes in Weston Favell, NN3, for landlords and letting agents, about 2.9 miles north-east of Northampton town centre. Work is mainly between-tenancy repaints of family houses and flats, plus communal halls and stairs in converted apartment buildings.
A small rental market with family houses
Weston Favell is not a big lettings area. When we checked Rightmove, only two homes were listed to rent under the Weston Favell name, both semi-detached houses: a three-bedroom on Grassmere Avenue and a seven-bedroom on Abington Park Crescent. That snapshot will change week to week, but it gives an idea of the stock: family-sized houses, not rows of shared flats. Rightmove’s Weston Favell area also overlaps parts of Westone and Abington, so some lets advertised under the name sit just over those boundaries.
For a landlord, that shapes the decorating. A family house let to the same tenants for several years tends to come back with wear concentrated in the hall, kitchen and children’s bedrooms, rather than the heavy, room-by-room turnover of a shared house. Our general approach to rental work is on the main landlord and letting agent decorating page.
Converted apartments and shared areas
The other rental stock here is flats, including the apartments in Weston Favell House, the Arts and Crafts stone house James Manfield built in 1899-1900 that later became Manfield Hospital. In a converted building like that, the shared hall, stairs and landings are often the landlord’s or managing agent’s responsibility, and they take more traffic than any single flat.
Communal decorating needs a different plan from a private flat. Residents still need to get in and out, so we work in sections, keep a clear route and use paints that dry fast and stand up to scuffing. We can work to a managing agent’s specification on colours and finishes, and leave a note of the products used so future touch-ups match.
Matching the repaint to the kind of let
Because the stock here is so mixed, the first question on a Weston Favell rental is what sort of building it is. The plan changes a lot between a suburban semi and a stone cottage in the old village.
| Rental type in Weston Favell | What to plan for between tenancies |
|---|---|
| Suburban semi or detached house, like the lets seen on Grassmere Avenue and Abington Park Crescent | Modern plastered walls, so scrubbable emulsion in the hall and kitchen and a quick refresh of bedrooms |
| Apartment in Weston Favell House | The flat itself, plus the shared hall and stairs where the landlord or managing agent is responsible for them |
| Stone cottage in the conservation area, if let | Breathable paint on solid walls and old lime plaster, bare limestone left unpainted outside, and consent checks if the cottage is listed |
| House being considered for HMO use | Planning permission first under the Article 4 direction, then harder-wearing finishes in the shared rooms |
In a family semi let to the same household for years, not every room needs full coats. We point out which rooms do and which only need touching in, so the gap before the next let stays short.
HMOs, the conservation area and other rules
The borough-wide HMO Article 4 direction has applied across the remaining areas of Northampton since 13 November 2020. Turning a family house in Weston Favell into a small HMO now needs planning permission, so if you are thinking of a change of use, check that before you plan any decorating around it.
A rental house inside the Weston Favell Conservation Area, on High Street or Church Way, is still subject to the conservation rules on its exterior. If the house is also listed, consent covers interior changes as well as exterior ones. For a straightforward refresh of an unlisted rental, there is nothing extra to arrange.
Keys, access and quotes
Letting agents often hand over keys and want photos when the job is done. We can work from a key collection, send pictures of the finished rooms and fit the work into the gap between tenants. For more on the local housing, see our Weston Favell area page, and our cost guide for what drives the price of a rental repaint.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
