Best "neutral" wall colour for a rental house? Finishes?

[BraveMerida]

The house is looking tired and needs repainting by contractors before it is rentable. I'm not feeling up to date with what the latest finishes and colours are, I guess matt as opposed to satin walls are more current? And what is the best light neutral colour to use? It used to be magnolia (which I hated), I like F&B paints in the home but obviously it would not make sense to use F&B for a rental house. It's a small 2 bed Victorian terrace, so it needs a light neutral colour.

What's the best light neutral colour to use?

So ceiling will be matt white, woodwork satinwood/eggshell white.

Does that sound about right?

TIA

Agree, definitely wouldnt use F&B. I like Wickes chalky flat matt range which has the same finish, but to be honest unless you know exactly what sort of tenant you're going to have and what their furniture style will be, I'd just stick to Wickes trade vanilla, buttermilk, putty (not magnolia!). These paints go on really well and wont offend any prospective tenant.

white woodwork (maybe not brilliant white). White ceilings. Walls either magnolia or something similar, there's a reason colours are called 'landlord beige'. Tenants can then (if they want) change curtains, add rugs, put up pictures (perhaps provide hooks for them) and personalise it that way without the main decor shouting at what they have.

that said, there's no reason you can't have some other colours if you want!

same colours all the way through so it is easy to redecorate. And yes, consider finishes, make their life as easy as you would like yours to be.

Please don't do magnolia!

I found B&Q colours actually have some lovely neutrals. Cheap and very easy to touch up if you they need to.

I use Hombase Putty in matt, it's a grey/beige toned cream. They also do it in a durable matt which is supposedly wipeable.

Thank you for the responses.

I'm now inclining towards painting the whole thing dulux brilliant white in matt and satinwood....

I also like F&B's Old White...does anyone know of a cheaper equivalent in colour and finish please?

Dove grey seems to work in most places (will be painting our new house thusly)

What brand is Dove Grey HRN? So I can google...

No worries...just found dove grey under a number of brands...

Dulux Egyptian Cotton and then Just Walnut Dulux are a light and lighter farrow and ball elephant's breath.
Crown Gallery White is a more grey neutral.
All these I have used and like.

I'm doing exactly this in a small 2 bed house!

It's a minefield, once you stray from white you're so easily into malted milk biscuit beige or institutional lemon.

We have Dulux Natural Hessian which is a nice warm neutral colour :)

I'm a tenant and we rented a place with green and gold stripy wallpaper in the living room so I am now happy with any shade of beige, magnolia would be fine by me!

Sorry to hijack but as there are landlords on this thread can I ask what flooring you use in your rental houses? Everywhere we look at has crappy, tough, dark brown carpets, is there a reason this type of flooring is so widely used? I happily pay much more to rent a place with better flooring, even just cheap laminate that I can put a rug on.

Flooring wise, we have laminate and tiles downstairs (naice laminate though ), lino in the bathroom, and are planning an oatmeal/grey type carpet for stairs and bedrooms. Can't bear brown carpet!

This is our own house we're doing up for rental, so we're trying really hard to get it right for the rental market without just buying things because we love them.

having been a tenant for years I would say, doesn't matter what shade as long as it is neutral, a cream/beige/buttermilk/vanilla/mocha whatever.

BUT I agree definitely get a wipeable paint. honestly even the most careful tenants will scuff a wall or a child will get fingerprints on it and it will make life much easier all round.

do one colour throughout and leave left over paint handy in the shed or something for the tenant, means any minor scuffs can be touched up easily and without you needing to be called about them. Helps tenants be good tenants.

I should add I would never have called a landlord/lady over a scuff but what i mean is that the tenants can deal with it straight away and keep the property looking nice.

Dulux Nude Glow is my favourite. I wouldn't use matt in a rental house TBH.

Because matt is harder to wipe? What about those washable paints?