Painter and decorator in Manchester: landlord and tenant rules

Redecoration is one of the most common flashpoints between landlords and tenants, because the law does not give a single clear answer. Whether a landlord must book a painter and decorator in Manchester to refresh a tired flat, whether a tenant can be charged for marks on the walls, and who deals with mould bleeding through the paint all depend on what caused the problem and what the tenancy agreement says. This guide sets out the rules as they stand in England, with Manchester’s housing stock and damp climate in mind.

What the landlord is responsible for

Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 puts a repairing obligation on landlords of most residential tenancies of less than seven years. It covers the structure and exterior of the property, including walls, roof, windows and external doors, and the installations for water, gas, electricity, heating and sanitation. It does not, in itself, require a landlord to redecorate for cosmetic reasons. What it does require is that when the landlord carries out a repair, they make good the damage that repair causes: if a plumber cuts into a wall to fix a leak, the landlord should have the wall replastered and repainted.

The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 adds a broader duty: the home must be fit to live in at the start of the tenancy and throughout it. Serious damp and mould, which in Manchester is often the reason paint fails in the first place, can make a home unfit, and a tenant can take a landlord to court over it. Citizens Advice and Shelter both publish plain-English guidance on this, and Manchester City Council’s housing standards team can inspect privately rented homes and require landlords to act.

What the tenant is responsible for

Tenants must use the home in a tenant-like manner. In practice that means keeping it clean, ventilating it reasonably, reporting problems promptly and not causing damage beyond fair wear and tear. Scuffs along a hallway, small picture-hook holes and faded paint after a long tenancy are wear and tear. Large holes, crayon on the walls, a bold colour painted without permission, and nicotine staining are damage. Most tenancy agreements say tenants must not redecorate without the landlord’s written consent; some add that any approved redecoration must be returned to neutral colours at the end.

Deposits and redecoration

Deposit deductions for redecoration are where most disputes end up. The tenancy deposit schemes approved by the Government, including the Deposit Protection Service, MyDeposits and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, all apply the same principles in their adjudications:

• A landlord cannot charge for fair wear and tear.
• Where there is damage, the landlord can claim the cost of putting it right, less an allowance for the age of the decoration. A wall painted five years ago was due a repaint anyway, so the tenant will not be charged for the whole job.
• The landlord must show evidence: a check-in inventory with photographs, a check-out report and a quote from a painter decorator for the work.
• Betterment is not allowed. A tenant cannot be charged for upgrading from basic emulsion to a premium finish.

Tenants should photograph every wall at check-in and check-out, and landlords should keep a dated record of when each room was last decorated.

What is different in Manchester

Manchester’s housing is a mix of red-brick Victorian terraces, interwar semis in the suburbs and a large and growing stock of city-centre apartments, and the city’s wet climate makes damp and condensation the dominant decorating issue in all three. Terraces with solid brick walls and no cavity suffer penetrating damp when pointing or render fails, which is the landlord’s structural responsibility. Modern flats with sealed windows and no trickle vents suffer condensation, where the answer is usually ventilation and heating as well as a repaint. Since the death of Awaab Ishak in Rochdale, the Government has introduced requirements on social landlords to fix damp and mould within set timescales, and Manchester City Council and the ten Greater Manchester boroughs have been active in enforcing standards in the private rented sector too. A landlord in the city who treats mould as a decorating problem rather than a building problem is taking a legal risk.

When to call a professional

Landlords should use a trade for anything that goes beyond paint. Electrical work in rented homes must meet the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector Regulations, and any new circuit or consumer unit work in England is notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations and is for an NICEIC, NAPIT or similarly registered electrician. Gas appliances need an annual safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer and must never be painted over or boxed in by a decorator. Textured ceilings in homes built before 2000 may contain asbestos, which the HSE says should not be disturbed without testing; landlords of HMOs in particular should keep records. Exterior painting of a two-storey terrace needs proper access equipment. Any waste from a clear-out between tenancies must be taken by a carrier registered with the Environment Agency.

Agreeing redecoration sensibly

The least painful approach is to agree the position in writing before anyone picks up a brush. A landlord who plans a neutral repaint every few years and records it will rarely lose a deposit dispute. A tenant who asks permission in writing before painting a feature wall, and agrees to return it to neutral, will rarely be charged. Both can get written quotes from a local painter and decorator or from painters and decorators who regularly work on rental properties; a painter and decorator near me search will produce plenty in the city, and a house painter and decorator used to tenancy turnarounds will know what neutral finishes stand up to wear.

If you are a landlord or tenant who needs redecoration done, describe the property, the rooms and the situation to The Household Daily help desk and we will help you take the next step.

Guidance is general and refers to the authority that sets each rule. Costs are indicative ranges; always get written quotes. Trade availability and credentials are confirmed when you enquire.