Painting Communal Areas in London Flats: Freeholder & Leaseholder Guide

The Complexity of Communal Painting in London

Painting the communal areas of a block of flats in London should, in theory, be straightforward — the hallways, staircases, and landings need refreshing, a decorator is engaged, and the work is done. In practice, it is one of the most procedurally complex painting projects you can undertake, involving multiple parties, legal requirements, and competing preferences.

London's housing stock includes a vast number of purpose-built mansion flats, converted Georgian and Victorian townhouses, and modern apartment blocks — all with communal areas that require periodic redecoration. The process of getting this work done properly involves understanding the legal framework, managing the expectations of multiple stakeholders, and selecting materials that will stand up to heavy communal use.

We have painted communal areas in hundreds of London blocks, from the grand mansion flats of Knightsbridge and Kensington to the smaller converted properties of Pimlico and Fulham. This guide sets out everything freeholders, leaseholders, and managing agents need to know.

Who Is Responsible? The Legal Framework

Freeholder Obligations

In most leasehold arrangements, the freeholder is responsible for maintaining the common parts of the building, including decoration. This obligation is typically set out in the lease, which will specify that the freeholder must keep the common parts in good repair and condition.

The cost of this maintenance is recovered from leaseholders through the service charge. The lease usually specifies a redecoration cycle — commonly every 3-5 years for internal communal areas — though the freeholder has discretion over exact timing.

Managing Agents

Most London blocks are managed day-to-day by managing agents who act on behalf of the freeholder. The managing agent's role is to arrange the decoration work, obtain quotations, manage the project, and account for costs through the service charge.

The quality of managing agents in London varies enormously. The best ones — and there are many excellent firms operating across Mayfair, Belgravia, and Kensington — treat communal decoration as an important investment in the building's value. The worst treat it as an inconvenience, selecting the cheapest contractor and specifying the minimum acceptable standard.

Right to Manage (RTM) Companies

Many London blocks have exercised their right to manage, transferring the management function from the freeholder's agent to a company controlled by the leaseholders. This gives residents greater control over maintenance quality and spending, including decoration choices.

If your building has an RTM company, the directors (who are leaseholders themselves) will be making the decoration decisions. This can lead to better outcomes, as the people making choices are the same people living with the results.

Section 20 Consultation: The Legal Requirement

For any qualifying works costing more than £250 per leaseholder, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (as amended) requires a formal consultation process known as a Section 20 consultation. In most London blocks, communal painting and decorating will exceed this threshold.

The Section 20 process has three stages:

Stage 1: Notice of Intention

The freeholder or managing agent must write to all leaseholders, describing the proposed works and inviting them to nominate contractors. Leaseholders have 30 days to respond. Any nominated contractors must be invited to tender.

Stage 2: Notice of Estimates

After obtaining at least two estimates (including any from leaseholder-nominated contractors), the freeholder must write to all leaseholders again, setting out the estimates received and inviting observations. Again, leaseholders have 30 days to respond.

Stage 3: Award of Contract

If the chosen contractor is not the cheapest, the freeholder must write to each leaseholder explaining why a more expensive option was selected.

Why does this matter? If the Section 20 process is not followed correctly, the freeholder can only recover £250 per leaseholder through the service charge, regardless of the actual cost. For a major decorating project costing £20,000 or more, this is a significant financial exposure for the freeholder.

The entire Section 20 process takes a minimum of two months, and often three to four months in practice. This means communal decoration projects need to be planned well in advance.

Dispensation

In urgent cases, the freeholder can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for dispensation from the consultation requirements. However, this is a formal legal process that requires demonstrating that the circumstances justify bypassing the normal procedure. General inconvenience or desire for speed is not sufficient.

Getting the Specification Right

The specification for communal painting is critical. These are high-traffic areas that must withstand constant use by residents, visitors, delivery people, and removal companies. The materials and approach must be appropriate for the level of wear.

Paint Selection

Walls: Standard matt emulsion is not durable enough for communal hallways. We specify either a durable matt (such as Dulux Diamond Matt or Johnstone's Covaplus) or a soft sheen finish that can withstand regular cleaning without burnishing. For high-traffic areas at ground and lower-ground level, a mid-sheen product like Dulux Diamond Eggshell provides the best balance of appearance and durability.

Ceilings: Standard matt emulsion is acceptable for ceilings in communal areas, as they receive no physical contact. A bright white ceiling maximises light in areas that are often poorly naturally lit.

Woodwork: Communal woodwork — door frames, skirting boards, handrails, dado rails — takes enormous punishment. A high-quality satinwood or eggshell finish is essential. We use Dulux Trade Satinwood or Johnstone's Aqua Guard for most communal woodwork projects. Gloss is increasingly rare in modern schemes, though it remains appropriate in period buildings where a higher sheen complements the original detailing.

Metalwork: Staircase balustrades, handrails, and letter boxes should be painted with a metal primer and topcoated with a durable enamel. For iron balustrades in mansion flats, we use a rust-inhibiting primer followed by two coats of high-performance eggshell or satinwood.

Colour Selection

Choosing colours for communal areas is inherently challenging because the scheme must satisfy multiple households. The most successful approach is to keep things relatively neutral while avoiding the blandness that comes from excessive caution.

Hallways and corridors: Warm, neutral tones work best. Avoid pure white (which shows every mark) and avoid anything too dark (which makes already dim spaces feel oppressive). Colours like Farrow & Ball's Skimming Stone, Little Greene's Slaked Lime, or Dulux's Polished Pebble strike the right balance.

Stairwells: Consider that the colour will be seen under different lighting conditions at each floor level. A colour that looks elegant on the well-lit ground floor may look dingy on a poorly lit upper landing. Test the colour at the darkest point of the stairwell, not the lightest.

Woodwork: Off-white is the safest and most versatile choice for communal woodwork. It provides a clean, well-maintained appearance without being clinical. Strong White (Farrow & Ball) or Flake White (Little Greene) both work well.

Period buildings: In mansion flats and converted period properties, particularly those in Belgravia, Knightsbridge, and Mayfair, a more considered heritage palette can significantly enhance the character of the communal areas. Deep greens, warm stone tones, and traditional paint colours on panelling and dados lift these spaces from merely acceptable to genuinely impressive.

Practical Considerations for the Works

Timing and Access

Communal painting must work around the daily lives of all residents. This means:

Working hours: Typically 8am-5pm, Monday to Friday. Weekend work may be restricted by the lease or house rules.
Access: All common areas must remain accessible throughout the works. This means painting one side of a hallway at a time, maintaining clear passage on stairs, and ensuring fire escape routes are never blocked.
Drying time: Residents need to be informed about drying times and asked to avoid touching freshly painted surfaces. Signs and barriers are essential.
Furniture and belongings: Any items stored in communal areas (pushchairs, bicycles, plant pots) need to be moved before work begins. This requires notice to residents.
Lifts: If the building has a lift, protecting the lift interior is essential. Heavy-duty coverings for the floor, walls, and doors prevent damage from equipment and paint.

Preparation in Communal Areas

The preparation standards in communal areas should be no less thorough than in a private home. In practice, we find that many previous decorating contractors have cut corners on preparation, leading to an accumulated legacy of poor-quality finishes, lumpy paintwork, and half-filled cracks.

A thorough communal areas preparation programme includes:

Washing down all painted surfaces to remove dirt and grease
Scraping and sanding any flaking or damaged paintwork
Filling all cracks, holes, and defects in plaster and woodwork
Priming bare surfaces and spot-priming repairs
Lining paper on walls if the existing surface is extensively cracked or uneven
Caulking the junction between walls and woodwork to create clean, professional lines

Dust and Disruption

Preparation work generates dust. In a communal environment, this dust migrates into private flats through gaps under doors and along corridors. Managing this requires careful dust sheeting, the use of dustless sanders where possible, and daily cleaning of all communal areas at the end of each working day.

We also protect all floor finishes — marble, tile, carpet, or engineered wood — with heavy-duty coverings that remain in place throughout the project. In the mansion flats of Kensington and South Kensington, the original marble entrance halls and tiled corridors are often irreplaceable, and their protection is paramount.

Cost Guide for Communal Painting

The cost of communal painting varies significantly depending on the size and complexity of the building, the condition of the existing decoration, and the specification chosen. As a rough guide for London properties in 2026:

Small converted house (3-4 flats, 2-3 storeys):

Basic scheme (walls and woodwork, light prep): £3,000–£5,000
Full scheme (thorough prep, lining, quality paint): £5,000–£8,000

Medium mansion flat block (8-12 flats, 4-5 storeys):

Basic scheme: £8,000–£15,000
Full scheme: £15,000–£25,000

Large mansion flat block (20+ flats, 5-6 storeys):

Basic scheme: £20,000–£35,000
Full scheme: £35,000–£60,000+

These figures include all preparation, materials, and labour but exclude scaffolding for stairwells and any major plaster repair work.

The cost per leaseholder depends on the service charge apportionment, which is set out in the lease. In most blocks, the cost is split equally or proportionally by flat size. For a twelve-flat block spending £20,000 on communal decoration, each leaseholder's share would be approximately £1,650 — well above the Section 20 threshold.

Common Disputes and How to Avoid Them

Communal decoration projects are a frequent source of disagreement between leaseholders, freeholders, and managing agents. The most common disputes involve:

Cost: Leaseholders questioning whether the work is necessary, whether the specification is excessive, or whether the price is reasonable. The best defence against these challenges is a clear specification, transparent tendering, and proper Section 20 compliance.

Colour choice: Disagreements over colour are almost inevitable when multiple households are involved. We recommend limiting the palette options to three or four pre-selected schemes and inviting residents to vote. Offering unlimited choice leads to endless debate and delay.

Quality: Concerns that the work has not been completed to an acceptable standard. A detailed specification agreed before work begins, combined with a formal snagging process at the end, minimises this risk.

Disruption: Complaints about noise, smell, access restrictions, and mess during the works. Clear communication — a written schedule sent to all residents before work begins, updated weekly — is essential.

Maintenance Between Full Redecorations

Rather than waiting for a full redecoration cycle, regular touch-up maintenance can keep communal areas looking fresh between major projects. We offer maintenance programmes for London blocks that include:

Quarterly touch-up visits to address scuffs, chips, and marks
Annual deep clean of all painted surfaces
Immediate response for significant damage (removal marks, water damage)

This approach extends the interval between full redecorations from the typical 3-5 years to 5-7 years, saving money over the long term while keeping the building looking well-maintained at all times.

If you manage or live in a London block that needs communal area decoration, we would be pleased to carry out a survey and provide a detailed specification and quotation. We work with managing agents, RTM companies, and freeholders across central and west London.