We decorate rental and buy-to-let property in White Hills, NN2, for landlords and letting agents, from our base about 2.8 miles south in Northampton. Dean handles end-of-tenancy repaints on family houses and flats, using neutral, hard-wearing finishes chosen to cut future touch-up work.
The rental picture in White Hills
We’d rather be straight about what’s known. There is no published rental data specific to White Hills, and we don’t know how many homes here are let or whether there are HMOs. What is reported is that Your Move lists Whitehills among the high-demand family areas around Kingsthorpe, and that the average advertised rent across Kingsthorpe as a whole has risen 30.4% over five years.
For a landlord, that points to two things. Family tenants are the likely market, and every week a house sits empty between lets matters more as rents rise. A between-tenancy repaint should be scoped tightly and done quickly, with finishes chosen for a household with children rather than a single sharer.
Family houses: where tenants leave their mark
The houses likely to come up as family lets are the inter-war homes of the original 1930s estate and the later estate housing of neighbouring Spring Park, which shares the ward. In a family let the wear concentrates in predictable places:
| Area | Typical wear | What we usually suggest |
|---|---|---|
| Hall and stairs | Scuffs at bag and bike height, handrail grime | Scrubbable durable matt walls, satin handrail and spindles |
| Children’s bedrooms | Blu-tack marks, pen, picture holes | Fill, sand and repaint in one neutral shade used throughout |
| Kitchen | Grease on walls near the cooker | Degrease before painting, then a wipeable kitchen finish |
| Skirtings and doors | Chips and knocks from toys and hoovers | Water-based satin that stays white and touches up easily |
We’ll tell you honestly which rooms need full coats and which only need touching in. Using one neutral colour in the same finish across the property means the next round of touch-ups can come from one tin.
Older woodwork and the inventory
Inter-war houses may still have original panelled doors and deep skirtings under many coats of gloss. On a rental, it is tempting to slap another coat on, but cracked or flaking build-up will fail again within a tenancy and show up on the check-out report. Where it is only a few doors, it is usually worth preparing them properly once. Our main landlord and letting agent page explains how we work with agents on keys, access and photographs.
Leasehold flats: check the lease first
White Hills also has leasehold flats, including the McCarthy Stone retirement flats at Wardington Court on Welford Road. Retirement blocks usually carry lease conditions on who can live there, so check your lease and the managing agent’s rules before assuming a flat there can be let. Whether the flat is being let or sold, the decorating is similar: a full refresh in light, neutral finishes, with the work inside the flat itself. Corridors and entrances are communal and are the managing agent’s responsibility.
Inside a block like this, we use low-odour paint, keep materials out of shared corridors and confirm any parking or loading arrangements with the agent before the first day.
Arranging the work
From our Northampton base, about 2.8 miles away, we can meet a letting agent at the property or work from keys left with them. Quotes are itemised by room so you can drop anything that can wait until the next void, and we note any repairs we spot, such as a sticking door or a cracked window board, so you can deal with them before the new tenant moves in. For guidance on budgeting, see the painter and decorator cost guide, and for other work in the district, the White Hills area page.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
