Condo Painting throughout Cambridge, MA.

Multi-unit buildings hold most of Cambridge's housing. By census estimate, 29.1% of units sit in buildings of two to four units and 54.5% in buildings of five or more, with 27.1% in buildings of fifty or more. The census does not identify which of those units are condominiums, but the city's assessors treat condominiums as their own class, with a median assessed value of $750,900 in fiscal 2024.

An association can therefore mean two neighbors sharing a converted two-family, a dozen owners in a mid-size brick building, or a large board with a property manager. The painting itself is similar; who approves it, who pays and how the work is scheduled are not.

Your unit: what you control

Walls and ceilings inside the unit are generally the owner's to paint, but the master deed and bylaws define exactly where the unit ends. Entry doors facing a common hall, windows, and porches or decks can be common or limited common elements, and some buildings require approval for any change visible from the hall or the street.

Renters occupy 66.5% of the city's occupied homes, and a condo that is rented out has its own timing. A unit painted between tenants, or before a sale, benefits from a single neutral palette that is easy to touch up. In a building from before 1978, sanding or scraping more than six square feet of paint per room triggers the EPA's lead-safe rule, and Massachusetts requires deleading where a child under six lives; our lead-safe painting page explains both.

• Walls, ceilings, trim and doors inside the unit
• Kitchen and bath cabinets (cabinet painting in Cambridge)
• Repaints between tenants and before a listing
• Plaster repair in older converted buildings

Common areas: halls, stairwells and entries

Hallways and stairs have to stay usable while they are painted. Work can be sequenced by floor or by stairwell, with one route kept open and wet areas marked, and finishes chosen to stand up to scuffs, bikes and moving day. Residents need dates in advance, posted in the building and sent by email if the association uses it.

Timing is constrained by the city as well as the building. Cambridge does not allow construction noise audible 50 feet from the lot line before 7 a.m. or after 6 p.m. on weekdays, the start moves to 9 a.m. on Saturdays and holidays, and Sunday construction requires Police Department approval. A building's own rules on quiet hours or elevator use may be tighter.

Insurance certificates and paperwork

A manager or board may require a certificate of insurance before a contractor enters common areas. AJ Painting is licensed and insured. Getting the manager's exact certificate requirements in writing well before the start date avoids last-minute delays at the door.

For a board vote, a written estimate broken down by area (each hallway, each stairwell, the exterior body and trim) lets owners compare scope line by line. Income-eligible owners of individual condos can also look at the city's Home Improvement Program, which offers loans for lead hazard work and exterior repairs.

Exterior repaints and historic districts

If the building sits in the Old Cambridge Historic District, the Historical Commission must approve exterior paint colors, and the Commission's one-hour color consultation is free for those properties. In the Mid Cambridge conservation district, work that matches existing conditions exactly receives a Certificate of Non-Applicability. Associations elsewhere can still book a consultation for $100. The Cambridge exterior painting page explains each district's rules.

Buildings in Central Square, Riverside, The Port, Porter Square and the rest of the city can be walked through on a free on-site visit with the board or manager.