This page is general information for New York City owners, tenants and landlords. It is not legal advice. The agencies named here decide how the rules apply to your building.
How do I find a good painter in New York?
To find a good painter, ask your neighbors, your super and your managing agent who has done clean work in your building, then check each name yourself.
A painter who has worked in your building already knows its rules, its elevator and its plaster. Look at recent reviews and photos, ask for references from similar apartments and meet the person who will run the job.
How many quotes should I get?
Get three written quotes for a job of any size. Give each painter the same scope: the same rooms, surfaces, repairs and number of coats.
Three is enough to see the range and spot the odd one out. More than that mostly costs you evenings.
What should a painting estimate include?
A painting estimate should include everything needed to finish the job, in writing.
- The rooms and surfaces: walls, ceilings, trim, doors, closets, radiators.
- The prep: patching, plaster repair, skim coating, sanding, caulking, priming.
- The paint by product line and sheen, and the number of coats.
- Protection of floors and furniture, and daily clean-up.
- How lead-safe work will be handled in an older home.
- Insurance for your building, start date, length of the job and payment schedule.
- The total price and what would change it.
What should be in a painting contract?
A contract should repeat the estimate and add the legal terms. New York State law requires a written contract for home improvement work over $500, for homeowners, co-op owners and tenants alike.
According to the New York Attorney General, it must give the contractor's name, address and phone number, approximate start and finish dates, a description of the work and materials, and the price. It must also carry a notice that you may cancel until midnight of the third business day after signing.
How much deposit should I give a painter?
New York City's consumer agency, DCWP, advises paying no more than 25% of the contract upfront to get work started. State law sets no fixed percentage for the deposit.
State law does say any payment schedule must bear a reasonable relationship to the work done and materials bought. The Attorney General's guidance adds that a contractor must either put your advance payments in an escrow account at a New York bank or cover them with a bond.
A painter wants half up front in cash: is that a red flag?
Yes. Half up front is double what DCWP advises, and cash leaves no record. DCWP's advice is plain: never pay in cash or without a contract.
Pay by check or card, made out to the business name on the contract, and get a receipt each time.
Should I hire a painter who wants all the money up front?
No. A painter who is paid in full before starting has no reason to finish, and you have nothing left to hold back if the work is poor.
A normal schedule is a deposit, perhaps a progress payment on a long job, and the balance when you have walked the finished work.
Does a painter need a license in New York?
New York State has no statewide painter's license. Licensing is local, and in New York City a contractor does need a license from DCWP for home improvement work over $200 on a residential building.
There is a wrinkle. The city code's definition of home improvement leaves out painting or decorating that is not tied to other home improvement work. So a paint-only job may fall outside the license rule, while a job that includes repairs and other improvement work falls inside it. A licensed contractor gives you more protection either way, including access to the city's Home Improvement Contractor Trust Fund. The NYC Painting Company is licensed and insured.
How do I check a painter's license and insurance?
To check a license, call 311 or use the license search on the DCWP website, nyc.gov/dcwp. Search the business name or the license number on the contract.
To verify insurance, ask for a certificate of insurance sent to you directly by the painter's insurance agent. It should show general liability and workers' compensation. Your building will usually want to be named on it.
What is a certificate of insurance, and why does my building want one?
A certificate of insurance is a one-page proof that the contractor holds current insurance. Co-ops, condos and rental buildings ask for one so that damage or an injury during the job is covered by the contractor's policy, not the building's.
Each building sets its own wording and minimum amounts. Get the requirements from your managing agent and pass them to the painter early, because approval can take days.
What is an alteration agreement, and does painting need one?
An alteration agreement is a contract between an apartment owner and the co-op or condo that sets the terms for renovation work. Many buildings do not require one for painting alone and treat it as decorating.
That is each building's decision. Plaster work, cabinet work or anything touching windows and pipes can move a job into alteration territory. Ask the managing agent in writing.
What are the red flags?
The red flags are the same ones consumer agencies warn about everywhere.
- No written estimate or contract.
- A large deposit, or cash only.
- No proof of insurance, or a certificate that comes from the painter and not the agent.
- A price far below every other quote.
- No business address, or a name that does not match the paperwork.
- Pressure to sign today.
- No answer when you ask how lead paint will be handled in an old building.
A painter says they can start tomorrow: is that a red flag?
Not always, but ask why. A painter who can start tomorrow may have had a cancellation. It can also mean no other customers.
In Manhattan a next-day start is rarely possible anyway. Most buildings need the insurance certificate approved and the elevator booked first. A painter who brushes that aside has probably not worked in buildings like yours.
What should I ask a painter before hiring?
These questions to ask a painter sort careful contractors from the rest.
- Are you licensed with DCWP, and what is the number?
- Will your agent send a certificate of insurance to my building?
- Have you worked in co-ops and pre-war buildings?
- What prep is included, and what would be extra?
- Which paint and how many coats?
- Is your firm EPA certified for work on pre-1978 paint?
- Who will be in my home each day, and who do I call?
- What is the payment schedule?
- Do you give a written warranty?
Do painters give a warranty, and what should it cover?
Many painters give a written warranty on their work, and the terms vary. A useful warranty covers peeling, blistering and flaking caused by the prep or application, and says for how long.
It will not cover damage from leaks, building movement or normal wear. Ask each painter, us included, for the warranty terms in writing before you sign.
What if a painter damages my floors or furniture?
Tell the painter straight away, take photos and put it in writing. A responsible contractor fixes the damage or pays for it, and the contractor's liability insurance exists for larger losses.
If you get nowhere, DCWP takes complaints about home improvement contractors through 311 or nyc.gov/dcwp. The New York Attorney General also takes consumer complaints at 1-800-771-7755. Small claims court is a further option.
Sources: NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, NYC Administrative Code section 20-386 and the New York Attorney General's home improvement fact sheet. Checked October 2026.