The gap between tenancies is the moment to reset a property. Prospective tenants and letting agents notice tired woodwork immediately — scuffed skirting, yellowing gloss on doors, a radiator with chipped paint from where someone knocked it with a hoover. A targeted repaint of doors, skirting and radiators transforms how a flat photographs and how it presents at viewings, without the disruption or cost of repainting every wall. This guide covers what to do, how long it takes, and what to expect from a professional finish.

What Letting Agents Actually Look For

Agents conducting check-outs and mid-term inspections focus on a handful of things: marks on walls, condition of carpets, and — consistently — the state of the woodwork. Skirting takes knocks throughout a tenancy. Doors accumulate fingermarks, scuffs around handles, and paint build-up around edges where they have been pushed shut repeatedly. Radiators fade and chip. None of these is the tenant's fault, but all of them read as neglect at a viewing.

A property where the woodwork looks fresh signals to a prospective tenant (and their agent) that the landlord maintains the property properly. That perception supports a better asking rent and attracts more responsible tenants. Letting agents report consistently that properties with freshly painted woodwork let faster and at a higher figure than identical properties left as-is.

What a Between-Tenancy Refresh Typically Covers

The most common scope for a between-tenancy woodwork refresh is:

Internal doors — both sides, frame and architrave, in satinwood or eggshell. From £80 per door.
Skirting boards — throughout the property, wiped down and repainted. From £7 per linear metre.
Radiators — hand-painted in a water-based satinwood that holds up to heat cycles. From £65 per radiator.
Internal window sills — often overlooked but very visible at a viewing. From £30 per sill.

A typical two-bedroom flat in North or Central London — four doors, 30 linear metres of skirting, four radiators and a few sills — comes to somewhere in the £600 – £900 range for a full woodwork refresh. That is a small fraction of a month's void period at London rents.

Our woodwork and trim painting service covers all of the above and is specifically designed for exactly this kind of focused, efficient job.

A Realistic Turnaround

For a two-bedroom flat, a woodwork-only refresh is typically a tidy day's work — in by 8:30, finished and cleaned up by late afternoon, dry overnight. We use fast-drying water-based satinwood products as standard, which means doors can be gently closed the following morning without risk of sticking. There is no strong solvent smell, which matters when you are hoping to have the property ready for viewings the next day.

If the existing paintwork is in poor condition — significant chipping, a very dark colour that needs covering, or bare timber where previous paint has been knocked off — preparation adds time. We will flag this clearly when we confirm the price, so there are no surprises on the day.

Minimal Disruption, No Van Required

One practical advantage of working with a single operator in Central and North London is the logistics. We travel by tube and on foot with our equipment — no van, no parking permit needed, no Congestion Charge or ULEZ cost passed on to you. For mansion block flats, basement conversions, and properties in Controlled Parking Zones, this is a genuine benefit. We arrive on time, work quietly within the property, and leave it clean.

This also makes us well-suited to properties in managed buildings where parking for a trade van is difficult or where the managing agent has restrictions on working hours and lift use. We are used to navigating these situations and will coordinate with you or your agent as needed.

Colour and Specification

Most landlords opt for a clean, neutral white or off-white woodwork throughout — typically Dulux Trade Satinwood in Brilliant White or a warm white to match existing walls. This is the fastest option and the easiest to touch up between future tenancies. If the property has a specific heritage look — period mouldings, panelled doors, a colour scheme that ties to the architecture — we can match existing colours or work to a spec you provide.

For higher-end properties or those in conservation areas where the finish is expected to be particularly good, we can work in Little Greene or Farrow and Ball products at material cost. The durability and depth of finish from a quality paint genuinely shows in a freshly presented property.

Coordinate With Your Agent Early

The best between-tenancy refreshes happen when we can book in during the check-out window — ideally the day after the outgoing tenant leaves, while the property is empty and before the deep clean. A two-to-three day lead time is usually sufficient for us to confirm availability and pricing. If you manage multiple properties, we can plan a schedule across them to keep costs efficient and void periods short.

If you are a letting agent looking for a reliable decorator for your managed portfolio in North or Central London, we are happy to discuss a regular arrangement.

Ready to Book?

Send us a list of what needs doing — number of doors, approximate skirting run, number of radiators — or a few photos of the property, and we will come back with a fixed price and an available date. Request a free quote here and we will aim to respond the same day.

Repainting Doors & Skirting Between London Tenancies: A Landlord's Guide