Condo Painting throughout Marlborough, MA.

Shared buildings are a large part of the local housing picture. The Census counts 28.6% of units in buildings with five or more homes, and 15.4% in buildings of twenty or more, including 1,510 units in buildings of fifty or more. Another 17.2% sit in two- to four-unit buildings, and 7.4% are attached townhouse-style homes.

Those counts do not distinguish condominiums from rental apartments; they describe structures, not ownership. A local historical survey notes that apartment complexes followed the 1950s subdivisions in the 1960s, so some large buildings are now several decades old. For a condo, the practical point is that painting divides between the owner and the association, and each side has its own paperwork.

Inside your unit

The master deed and bylaws define where your unit ends and the common elements begin. Interior walls, ceilings, doors and trim may fall to the owner, but read the documents rather than assuming. Rules may also set working hours, require contractors to check in with management, or ask for elevators and lobby floors to be protected.

A unit in a building from before 1978 may contain lead paint under newer coats. If you live there with a child under six, the Massachusetts Lead Law puts the responsibility for a lead-safe home on the owner, and a Letter of Interim Control is valid for up to two years. Paid work that disturbs more than six square feet per room is also subject to the EPA's renovation rule. Our lead-safe painting page has the details.

• Walls, ceilings and trim before a sale or after a renter moves out
• Kitchen cabinets refinished in place; see cabinet painting
• Ceiling stains repaired once a leak from the unit above is fixed
• Room-by-room work planned so you can keep living in the unit

Hallways, stairwells and lobbies

Corridors and stair towers belong to everyone, so an owner should not repaint them alone. For a board, a common-area job has to keep every door reachable and every exit clear. That means working in sections, posting notices before each phase, choosing scrubbable, low-odor finishes, and agreeing in advance on daily start and stop times.

Larger buildings may also need a plan for elevator lobbies, trash rooms and the walls along the main entry, where scuffs from moving furniture and deliveries build up fastest.

Exteriors, balconies and the historic district

Siding, trim, balconies and railings may be common or limited common elements, and where they are, the association controls their color. A multi-building complex can phase its exterior repaint by building so the cost lines up with the reserve budget; the exterior painting page describes the prep.

If a condominium building stands inside the Monument Square local historic district, a change in exterior color needs a certificate from the city's Historic District Commission before work begins, while maintenance that keeps the same design and materials is exempt. See our downtown page for more.

Insurance certificates

If a property manager asks for a certificate of insurance naming the association, the usual reason is that the master policy covers the common elements and the board wants proof the contractor carries its own coverage. AJ Painting is licensed and insured. Ask for the certificate along with the estimate, and tell us who must be listed so it reaches the manager before work is scheduled.