How Much Does It Cost to Paint an Apartment Between Tenants?

Market rates

• Interior painting: $2 to $6 per square foot; $2.75 walls only, $4.70 with trim and ceilings
• 600 sq ft apartment: $1,200 to $3,600
• Two-bedroom, walls only: from about $1,600
• Two-bedroom, walls, ceilings and trim: $2,400 to $7,200
• Washington, DC, one room: $436 to $1,742, $1,198 on average
• Washington, DC painters: $50 to $82 per hour, per painter; ceilings add $1 to $3 per square foot

Sources: Angi, interior painting (Jul. 2026); HomeGuide, apartment painting; Angi, Washington DC room painting (Jul. 2026). These are published market figures, not our prices. Your written price after the walkthrough is your exact number.

The short answer

Painting between tenants is priced per unit after the walkthrough. The biggest single factor is touch-up versus full repaint. Touch-ups cost less but only work when the existing paint is clean, the same color and the same sheen. When they would flash under window light, a repaint is the honest answer.

This is one question in our apartment turnover cost guide, which covers the whole unit.

What moves the price

• Touch-up or full repaint
• How much wall patching has to happen first
• Ceilings, doors and trim, or walls only
• Stains that need sealing before paint
• Color changes, which need more coats

Why cheap paint jobs cost more

A patch that is not primed shows through. A stain that is not sealed bleeds back. Both mean the next turnover repaints the same wall. The prep is what makes the paint last to the next move-out.

Get the number for your unit

Tell us the unit and your standard colors. We walk it and send a written price.