Condo Painting across Attleboro, Massachusetts.

The city's housing is far from all single-family. Census estimates count 15.4% of units in buildings with five or more apartments, including 5.7% in buildings of fifty or more, another 12.1% in three- and four-unit buildings, 7.5% in two-unit buildings and 6.6% in attached single-family homes such as townhouses. The census does not record which of those are condominiums, so whether a given building is a condominium comes from its master deed, not the census count.

Condo work has two clients who want different things. The unit owner wants their rooms done well and on time. The association wants shared spaces painted without blocking exits, with insurance and paperwork in order and costs that the board can explain to owners.

Where your unit ends and the common area begins

Under the Massachusetts condominium statute, Chapter 183A, each condominium's master deed defines what belongs to the unit and what is a common element. Interior wall surfaces inside a unit are typically the owner's to paint; hallways, lobbies, exterior siding and trim, and sometimes entry doors and balconies are typically the association's. Your own master deed and bylaws are what control, so read them before hiring anyone for anything that touches the outside or a shared space.

Some associations also require notice before work inside a unit, set quiet hours, or limit when the elevator can be used for moving materials. Those rules belong in the schedule from the start.

Small associations in two- to four-unit buildings

In a two- or three-unit condo, the association may be just the owners themselves, with no manager. Painting exterior common elements is typically a common expense, and Chapter 183A has common expenses shared according to each unit's percentage interest set in the master deed. Getting a single written estimate addressed to the association, with the scope spelled out by elevation and by porch, makes it easier for owners to agree on what they are paying for.

If the building is one of the city's older multi-family houses, its trim and porches may need significant scraping, and if it was built before 1978 the lead-safe requirements below apply.

Hallways, stairwells and lobbies in occupied buildings

Common-area painting happens around people who live there and need to get in and out at all hours. A workable plan does stairwells and corridors in sections so one route always stays open, uses low-odor waterborne coatings, posts notices with dates ahead of each section, and protects floors and handrails at the end of each day.

Walls in corridors take scuffs from carts, strollers and move-ins. A scrubbable eggshell or satin on walls and a semi-gloss on doors and frames are easier to clean between repaints than flat paint.

Paperwork boards and managers ask for

AJ Painting is licensed and insured, and the estimate is free. With 61.2% of the city's units built before 1980, lead-safe practice matters for any association whose building predates 1978; details are on our lead-safe painting page.

• A certificate of insurance naming the association, and the manager if requested, before work starts
• A written scope listing surfaces, colors, product lines and number of coats
• For buildings constructed before 1978, compliance with the EPA's lead Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, which covers common areas of multi-unit housing and requires written notice to affected units, or posted signs, describing the work, its locations and dates
• A schedule showing which areas are closed on which days