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Manhattan Apartment Painters (Pre-War Co-ops, High-Rises & Walk-Ups)

Building rules and access in Manhattan shape what a job takes. Get free quotes from companies serving Manhattan.

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Painters in Manhattan
Settling InManhattan
TIMELINE
Most apartment repaints are scheduled within one to two weeks and take one to three days on site
COST RANGE
$1,200 to $2,500 for a studio, $1,500 to $3,500 for a one-bedroom, $2,000 to $5,000 for a two-bedroom, per a March 2026 NYC price survey
LOCAL CONTEXT
Pre-war co-ops
OverviewCommon requestsCostsFAQs

What to expect from painters in Manhattan

Get free quotes from local painters serving Manhattan. Providers here handle interior painting, apartment touch-ups, lead-safe painting. The median Manhattan apartment building went up in 1910, 49.5% of apartments sit in buildings from before 1940 (citywide 45.8%), and 21.2% are in buildings of five floors or fewer (citywide 37.1%).

HPD issued 15.9 violations per 100 apartments in Manhattan over the 12 months to September 2026, below the citywide 30.1. Immediately hazardous Class C conditions ran 5.2 per 100 apartments against 9.2 citywide, and 48.2% of buildings recorded none. Area figures describe 26,643 buildings holding 945,748 apartments, so check the specific address before you sign: one building's record can sit far from its neighborhood's average.

PRO TIP, Manhattan

Ask any company what it needs from you to quote accurately: the address, the floor, building access rules and the size of the job. Checking the building's own record first tells you whether the problem is yours or the landlord's.

Check Manhattan Building Violations Before You Book

Run the address through the free lookup first. It returns HPD violations, complaints, registration and legal actions, DOB violations, permits and ECB summonses, executed evictions, rodent and bed bug reports, rent stabilization status and nearby 311 calls for that building.

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What the Records Show in Manhattan

Buildings in Manhattan averaged 15.9 HPD violations per 100 apartments over the 12 months to September 2026, below the citywide 30.1. Immediately hazardous Class C conditions ran 5.2 per 100 apartments against 9.2 citywide, and 48.2% of buildings recorded none at all.

MeasureManhattanCitywide
Apartment buildings26,643172,071
Apartments945,7482,846,490
HPD violations per 100 apartments15.930.1
Class C (immediately hazardous) per 1005.29.2
Buildings with no violations48.2%45.3%
Apartments in pre-1940 buildings49.5%45.8%
Median year built1910n/a

Figures cover buildings with three or more apartments in Financial District-Battery Park City, Tribeca-Civic Center, SoHo-Little Italy-Hudson Square, Greenwich Village, West Village, Chinatown-Two Bridges, Lower East Side, East Village, Chelsea-Hudson Yards, Hell's Kitchen, Midtown South-Flatiron-Union Square, Midtown-Times Square, Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village, Gramercy, Murray Hill-Kips Bay, East Midtown-Turtle Bay, Upper West Side-Lincoln Square, Upper West Side (Central), Upper West Side-Manhattan Valley, Upper East Side-Lenox Hill-Roosevelt Island, Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill, Upper East Side-Yorkville, Morningside Heights, Manhattanville-West Harlem, Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill, Harlem (South), Harlem (North), East Harlem (South), East Harlem (North), Washington Heights (South), Washington Heights (North), Inwood, using HPD violations inspected in the 12 months to September 2026 and city lot records. Citywide figures use the same method. Search a specific address for that building’s own record.

What people in Manhattan typically request

  • interior painting
  • apartment touch-ups
  • lead-safe painting
  • cabinet painting
  • move-in / move-out painting

Painters costs in Manhattan

TYPICAL RANGE
$1,200 to $2,500 for a studio, $1,500 to $3,500 for a one-bedroom, $2,000 to $5,000 for a two-bedroom, per a March 2026 NYC price survey
TIMELINE
Most apartment repaints are scheduled within one to two weeks and take one to three days on site

Painters in Manhattan: questions answered

What building issues should I know about when hiring painters in Manhattan?
Tenants in Manhattan filed about 9,132 housing complaints to 311 in the 12 months to September 2026. Heat and hot water accounted for 39.2% of them, ahead of unsanitary conditions and pests at 16.1%. The median Manhattan apartment building went up in 1910, 49.5% of apartments sit in buildings from before 1940 (citywide 45.8%), and 21.2% are in buildings of five floors or fewer (citywide 37.1%). HPD issued 15.9 violations per 100 apartments in Manhattan over the 12 months to September 2026, below the citywide 30.1. Immediately hazardous Class C conditions ran 5.2 per 100 apartments against 9.2 citywide, and 48.2% of buildings recorded none.
Why does the Manhattan building record matter when booking painters?
Area figures describe 26,643 buildings holding 945,748 apartments, so check the specific address before you sign: one building's record can sit far from its neighborhood's average. Building age and condition change access, scope and timing for painters work.
What do Manhattan buildings typically look like and how does that affect painters?
The median Manhattan apartment building went up in 1910, 49.5% of apartments sit in buildings from before 1940 (citywide 45.8%), and 21.2% are in buildings of five floors or fewer (citywide 37.1%). Walk-up flights, elevator reservations and stairwell width drive most of the quote difference here.
How much does it cost to paint an apartment in NYC?
A March 2026 NYC price survey puts a studio at $1,200 to $2,500, a one-bedroom at $1,500 to $3,500 and a two-bedroom at $2,000 to $5,000, with labor at $55 to $85 an hour in Manhattan. Wall repair, ceilings, trim and dark color changes push a quote toward the top of those ranges, and sales tax of 8.875% applies on top.
How often does a landlord have to paint an apartment in NYC?
Every three years in a building with three or more apartments, under section 27-2013 of the Housing Maintenance Code. The owner and tenant can agree in writing to extend the cycle by up to two years, but only in the month before it ends. One- and two-family houses only have to be painted as necessary.
Can my landlord charge me for painting?
Not for the routine repaint the law requires. A landlord can charge for repairs to damage you caused within the three-year cycle, and can deduct from a security deposit for damage beyond ordinary wear, but billing a tenant for the regular three-year repaint is a charge worth refusing in writing.

Free Quotes in Manhattan

Tell us your address and what you need. You'll get quotes from local pros who know the building stock and quirks of Manhattan.