Guest post · EPC Cost Planner

Repainting a rental between tenancies: how much paint, what order, what to fix first

A void period is the cheapest time to repaint a rental — no tenants to work around, and a fresh coat is the fastest way to make a tired property photograph well. The job only stays cheap if you buy the right amount and paint in the right order. Here is the checklist landlords actually use.

1. Work out how much paint before you buy any

Measure each room separately and run the numbers once per colour — paint cannot be shared between colours. Use the paint calculator with your room's length, width and height, deduct the doors and windows, and let it work out the gallons or litres plus the exact tins to buy. Two coats is the default for a reason: one coat over a patched or marked wall almost always shows through in daylight.

Worked example — a 12 ft × 10 ft bedroom, 8 ft walls, 2 coats, ceiling painted, 1 door, 2 windows, 30 sq ft of trim, at the standard 350 sq ft per gallon coverage:

Gross walls: 2 × (12 + 10) × 8 = 352 sq ft
Minus doors and windows: 21 + (2 × 15) = 51 sq ft → net walls 301 sq ft
Ceiling: 12 × 10 = 120 sq ft; trim allowance 30 sq ft
Total per coat: 301 + 120 + 30 = 451 sq ft → × 2 coats = 902 sq ft
Paint: 902 ÷ 350 = 2.58 gallons → buy 3 × 1-gallon cans

Buy the third can even though the maths says 2.58 — the remainder is your touch-up stock for the next tenancy, and a mid-tenancy scuff repaired with the exact same paint is a five-minute job instead of a repaint.

2. Paint in this order

Wash first. Sugar soap on walls that have seen cooking, candles or a smoker tenant — paint over grease and it peels within months.
Fill, sand, spot-prime. Fill picture-hook holes and scuffs, sand smooth, and prime the patches. Unprimed filler flashes through emulsion as dull patches.
Ceilings, then walls, then trim. Work top-down so drips land on surfaces you have not finished yet.
Two coats, with drying time. Recoat only when the first coat is properly dry — rushing it pulls the first coat off on the roller.
Photograph everything. Dated photos of every freshly painted room are the simplest defence in a deposit dispute later.

3. Paint after the big work, not before it

The most expensive repaint is the one you do twice. If insulation, new glazing or heating work is planned for the property, do that first and paint after — installers scuff walls, and loft or cavity wall work can mark ceilings. That matters more than it used to: under the government response published on GOV.UK in January 2026, privately rented homes in England and Wales are proposed to reach an EPC C equivalent by 1 October 2030, with landlords required to invest up to £10,000 per property. If your property is rated D or below, check the cost to improve its EPC rating to C before you book the painter, and work out how many SAP points you need to reach band C — so you know whether the fabric work is a small top-up or a bigger job, and you only paint once.

4. Choose paint a landlord can live with

Washable matt emulsion on walls. It hides imperfect plaster and survives wiping — flat matt marks too easily in a rental hallway.
One colour across the property. A single white or warm neutral means one leftover tin covers touch-ups everywhere, and the next void repaint needs no colour matching.
Keep the code. Write the brand, colour name and code on the tin and in a note on your phone. Future you will not remember it.
Budget for the ceiling. Tenants look up more than owners do — a greyed ceiling undoes fresh walls. Include it in the calculator from the start.

Read how the calculator's default assumptions were chosen on the About page, and run the numbers for each room before your next void period starts.

Frequently asked questions

Is one coat ever enough for a rental repaint?

For a same-colour refresh over clean, previously painted walls with a premium paint, sometimes. Over patches, stains, a colour change or bare filler, no — the second coat is what gives even colour and durability. Budget for two and be pleasantly surprised, not the other way round.

How long should I allow between tenancies for painting?

A standard two-bedroom property takes two to three days for one person doing ceilings, walls and trim in two coats, including drying time. Add a day if there is filling and sanding to do, and do not schedule viewings until the last coat is dry and the smell has cleared.

Should I repaint the whole property or just the worst rooms?

Repaint the rooms tenants see first — hallway, living room, kitchen — and any room with visible marks. Bedrooms in good condition can wait a tenancy if the colour matches your stock tin for touch-ups. Consistency matters more than completeness: one colour everywhere photographs better than three different whites.