Painting an apartment in a VvE: how to arrange it

That depends on what has to be painted. Within your own apartment, such as walls and ceilings, you can normally choose yourself. The facade, the frames, the roof, the stairwell and the corridor are in most cases communal, and then the owners' association decides.

Where exactly the line lies is in the deed of division and the rules. With front doors and frames it is far from always the same. Sometimes the outside is communal and the inside is yours. So ask the board of your VvE first, and do not start on your own with a frame that does not belong to you alone.

Maintenance of communal parts normally goes through a decision in the owners' meeting. Which majority is needed follows from the deed of division and the rules, so look there instead of going on assumptions. Record the decision in the minutes, even with a small VvE with only a few owners.

Since 2018 an owners' association must also reserve funds for maintenance every year. That can be based on a maintenance plan or a fixed percentage of the reconstruction value. If there is money in the reserve fund, the decision can often go faster. If in doubt about the rules, you can go to VvE Belang or a legal adviser.

A meeting wants to be clear on what has to happen, what it costs and when. Our quote puts the agreed work on paper per part: frames, fascia boards, doors, communal areas. That way you can put something to the meeting as a board member that does not bring ten questions after it.

We can plan the site visit at a moment when someone from the board can walk round with us. After that you only have to take the decision. If you want to put quotes side by side, look at comparing quotes. Because the lowest amount says little if the preparation is not in it properly.

Many owners' associations work with an MJOP, because it makes the yearly contribution predictable. We can draw up a long-term maintenance plan (MJOP) for 5 or 10 years for the painting work, and a 10 year guarantee applies with it. That way the meeting knows which part is due when and roughly what amount is needed.

Note: that is a plan for the painting and maintenance work we do, not for, say, the roof or the lift. If your VvE already has a broader MJOP, we are happy to align with it, and look at what has to be adjusted in the painting part. That prevents double work.

In an apartment complex people live above, below and next to the work. That calls for good agreements: when is the scaffolding up, who has to keep their windows closed at which moment, and how do residents deal with wet paint on balconies and in the corridor.

We pass on the planning so the board can inform residents in good time. In their reviews, customers mainly mention the clear communication and the neat masking, and that is extra important in a stairwell. With tall facades, work at height comes in too. We arrange that with our own scaffolding or a cherry picker.

If you do not need a VvE decision because it is interior work, it works just like in any other home. Walls, ceilings and glass fibre wallpaper can be done at your own pace, and often at short notice. Earlier we did a new-build apartment of 150 m2 with glass fibre wallpaper and wall paint.

Do check what the VvE says about communal times, the lift and removing materials. For a new-build apartment, 21 percent Dutch VAT applies as long as it is less than two years old after first occupation. You can read more about that at VAT on painting work.

• The address and the number of homes or storeys
• Photos of facades, frames, access galleries and the stairwell
• Who will be our contact: board, manager or owner
• Whether there is already an MJOP or an earlier quote
• When the meeting is, so that you have the quote in time

We do the site visit itself on location, preferably with someone there who knows the building and the residents. After that you get a quote that you can forward straight to the other owners.

These are national indications, not MJA prices. You get a fixed price after the site visit, and in it the height, the condition and the access weigh most. Since 1 July 2025 a mixed-use building is split: 9 percent Dutch VAT on the residential part and 21 percent on the rest. That applies, for example, if there are shops on the ground floor.

At MJA Allround Bouw you have one point of contact in Mohamed, and that helps when several owners are watching. We are members of OnderhoudNL, Top Pro 2025 at Trustoo and rated 4.8 on Google from 25 reviews. From Mirns we work across Friesland, with most jobs in De Fryske Marren and Súdwest-Fryslân.

Request a quote or call 06 3006 0558 and mention the date of your meeting. Then we make sure the documents are with you in time, so the owners can make a good decision.