Painting the outside of a London house: scaffolding, pavement licences and the red flags that cost homeowners money

Exterior decorating is seasonal, weather-dependent and, in London, almost always complicated by access. A three-storey Victorian terrace rarely allows a painter to work safely from the ground, and the front elevation usually sits a pace or two from the public pavement. That combination of height, highway and a sizeable bill is why the outside of a house is worth approaching with rather more care than a bedroom repaint.

The national picture suggests the care is warranted. Citizens Advice reported in August 2025 that it had received 36,534 complaints about home maintenance and improvement in a year, more than 700 a week, of which 5,230 (14.3%) involved scams or rogue traders. Its July 2026 research found that external walls and roofing were among the areas where homeowners most often had problems, and that those who were overcharged lost £750 on average. In October 2026, during its Scams Awareness campaign, it said doorstep tactics featured in 77% of suspected roofing scams, a pattern that applies just as readily to anyone offering to "tidy up the front while we have the ladders here".

What the work should cost

Published guides give a useful sense of scale. Checkatrade's exterior painting cost guide quotes roughly £20 to £40 per square metre, with an average around £30. On its assumed areas, that works out at about £800 to £1,600 for a terraced house of some 40m² and £1,800 to £3,600 for a semi-detached house of around 90m², with painters charging roughly £35 to £45 an hour or £250 to £350 a day. The page carries more than one update date, so treat the figures as a 2025 to 2026 range rather than a precise current rate.

Access is usually extra. Checkatrade's scaffolding cost guide suggests around £650 to £1,100 a week for a two-storey semi-detached house, or about £20 to £25 per square metre, and gives an example of a tower costing about £600 in London against £400 in Colchester. A quotation that is far below these ranges is not necessarily dishonest, but it should prompt the question of what has been left out: preparation, primer, repairs to rotten timber, scaffolding, the licence, or the second coat.

Ladders, towers and scaffolding

Falls are the gravest risk in this trade. The Health and Safety Executive's construction statistics for 2025 record 35 fatal injuries to construction workers in 2024/25 (provisional), and state that 53% of fatal injuries over the five years to 2024/25 were falls from height.

That does not mean ladders are forbidden. HSE's ladder guidance is explicit that they are not banned and can be a sensible choice for low-risk, short-duration tasks. But under regulation 6 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, employers must take suitable measures to prevent falls and use work equipment that prevents a fall where the risk cannot be avoided. Repainting every sash, sill and fascia across a three-storey front is seldom a short task. A decorator who proposes to do it all from a long ladder, to save you the cost of scaffolding, is making a decision about risk that ought to be discussed openly.

Where scaffolding is used, Checkatrade notes that it should be inspected before first use, at least every seven days and after severe weather, and suggests checking whether the scaffolder is a member of the National Access and Scaffolding Confederation. Ask who is supplying it, whether they carry their own insurance, and how long it will be up: hire is often charged by the week, and weather delays can extend it.

The pavement licence

Scaffolding that stands on the pavement or road is not a private matter. Section 169 of the Highways Act 1980 requires a licence from the highway authority for scaffolding that obstructs a highway, requires its terms to be followed, and requires the structure to be lit from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise. In London, the authority is usually the borough council, or Transport for London on the main roads it manages.

Fees and lead times vary by borough. Camden, for example, currently lists a minor-works building licence at £464.80 plus a deposit of £785.56, with larger categories costing more, and asks for 10 working days to process an application. Islington asks for at least 10 working days' notice and requires the applicant to hold public liability insurance of at least £10 million. The scaffolding contractor normally applies and builds the cost into the price, but it is entirely reasonable for you to ask for a copy of the licence before the poles go up. A firm that says it is not needed is either mistaken or planning to take a risk on your behalf.

Checking the decorator before you commit

• Who is the business? If you are dealing with a limited company, look it up on Companies House: confirm it is active, that its accounts are not overdue and that the name and address match the quotation. A sole trader will not appear there, so ask for a trading address and a landline as well as a mobile number.
• Accreditation. Search a scheme's own register rather than trusting a logo. TrustMark, the government-endorsed quality scheme, lets you look up registered businesses directly.
• Insurance. Ask to see current public liability cover. Paint on a neighbour's car or a dropped tool on the pavement is precisely what it exists for.
• Old paint. Most London houses predate the end of leaded paint. Our guide to lead paint and period woodwork explains what careful preparation of old sashes and doors involves.
• A written, itemised quote. It should list the elevations, surfaces, preparation, products, number of coats, access arrangements and who is responsible for the licence.

Doorstep offers and cancellation rights

Exterior work lends itself to cold calling: the scaffold next door, a van in the street, a remark about flaking sills. If you agree to work in your home or on your doorstep, the contract is usually an off-premises contract under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, and you generally have 14 days to cancel, running from the day the contract is made for a service. If you want work to begin within that period, the trader must have your express request, and you may have to pay for work already done if you then cancel.

The trader must also give you written information about the right to cancel. If they do not, regulation 31 extends the cancellation period by up to 12 months, and regulation 19 makes the failure a criminal offence. Pressure to decide on the spot, a price that falls sharply when you hesitate, or a request for cash before work starts are all reasons to take a card and ring back after obtaining other quotes.

Deposits and paying in stages

There is no legal rule on the size of a decorating deposit. A modest payment to secure a date or cover materials is common; full payment before the scaffold is up is not. Tie later payments to visible stages, such as preparation complete and final coats complete, and hold back the balance until you have walked the elevation in daylight with the decorator. Paying by credit card can bring protection under Section 75 where the cost is over £100 and up to £30,000, even if only part was paid on the card. Avoid transfers to personal accounts that do not match the business you checked.

If the job goes wrong

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a service must be carried out with reasonable care and skill. Where it is not, section 55 entitles you to ask for repeat performance at the trader's expense, and if that is impossible or not done within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience, section 56 allows an appropriate price reduction. Paint that peels within months, runs on the glass or unprepared rot beneath new gloss are all things to photograph and raise in writing promptly.

The Citizens Advice consumer helpline, 0808 223 1133, can advise and refer matters to Trading Standards. If you think you have been deliberately deceived, contact your bank or card provider immediately and report it to Report Fraud.

Done properly, an exterior repaint protects timber and render for years and lifts an entire terrace. The firms that do it well are generally glad to show their licence, their insurance and an itemised quote, and to be paid as the work progresses rather than before it begins.

Sources were checked on 23 October 2026.

Sources, each checked on 23 October 2026: Checkatrade exterior painting costs; Checkatrade scaffolding costs; Citizens Advice, 11 August 2025; Citizens Advice, 7 July 2026; Citizens Advice, 12 October 2026; HSE construction statistics 2025; HSE ladders guidance; Work at Height Regulations 2005, reg. 6; Highways Act 1980, s. 169; Camden building licence; Islington scaffolding licence; Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regs 19, 30 and 31; Consumer Rights Act 2015, ss 49, 55 and 56. Prices are national guide figures rather than quotations; nothing here is legal advice.