Condo Painting right here in Milford, Massachusetts.

Shared buildings are a large part of local housing. Census estimates show 21.8% of housing units in two- to four-unit buildings, 14.0% in buildings of five or more units, and 8.6% in attached townhouse-style structures. The Census counts building types, not ownership, so those figures mix condominiums with rental apartments; still, together they put 44.4% of the town's housing units in attached or multi-unit buildings.

In a condominium, the painting question always splits in two. There is the unit, which the owner controls within the association's rules, and there are the common elements, which the trustees or board decide on for everyone.

Painting inside your own unit

Start with the master deed and the rules and regulations. They define where the unit ends and the common elements begin, including which side of that line windows, entry doors and balconies fall on. Then check the practical rules, such as permitted work hours, whether contractors must register with the management company, and how materials move through shared halls.

Investors should note that 34.8% of occupied homes in town are renter-occupied. A unit repaint between tenants is a different job from an owner's color update: durable, washable, consistent finishes matter more than a statement color, and the timeline is set by the next lease date.

• Walls, ceilings, trim and doors within the unit
• Kitchen and bath cabinets; see cabinet painting
• Turnover repaints for rental units and touch-up before a sale
• Ceiling stain repair after a leak from above, once the association has fixed the source

Common areas: corridors, stairs and entries

Hallways, stairwells, lobbies and mailbox areas cannot be closed for a week. A workable plan for an association schedules sections so every unit keeps a usable route, posts notice ahead of each phase, uses low-odor coatings in enclosed stair towers, and leaves wet-paint areas marked. Scuff-resistant finishes on walls and a harder enamel on handrails and doors reduce how soon the board has to repaint again.

Boards should also ask about building age. With 63.8% of local housing units built before 1980, an older building may still have early paint layers in shared stairways and on window trim. Paid work disturbing more than six square feet per room inside, or 20 square feet outside, a pre-1978 building has to follow the EPA's lead-safe rules; our lead-safe painting page covers what that involves for occupied buildings.

Multi-unit buildings with history

The Prospect Heights Historic District, northwest of the town center, was built in the early 20th century as Draper Corporation company housing; its 1990 National Register nomination counts 104 housing units across the district, with 37 contributing buildings among them, a mix of wood-frame duplexes and brick rowhouses, and described the properties then as still mostly rentals with some owner-occupied units. Whatever their current ownership form, buildings like these share roofs, porches and facades, so exterior color and material choices affect every unit. The nomination also recorded asbestos shingle on the wood-frame buildings, which changes how exterior prep is done. See the Prospect Heights page and the exterior painting page for detail.

Insurance and paperwork

Before any contractor works in a common area, the property manager or board should ask for a certificate of insurance, and the association may want to be listed as certificate holder. Unit owners doing interior work should check whether the master policy or their own HO-6 policy covers damage to neighboring units during a project. AJ Painting is licensed and insured, and the written estimate spells out the scope so the board or owner can compare it against the governing documents.