Condo painting cost in Toronto, by unit size

Painting a Toronto condo usually lands between about $2,950 and $11,250 (CAD, before HST) depending on the size of the unit, whether ceilings and trim are included, and where the building sits in the city. A 700 sq ft one bedroom is a very different job from a 1,200 sq ft two bedroom plus den, and the building itself adds cost that a house never does. Below is how the numbers are built, so you can check any quote you receive line by line.

Why a condo costs more than the same square footage in a house

Our estimator applies a property type multiplier of 1.06 to condo and apartment work. That 6 percent is not a markup for the sake of it. It covers the things a crew has to do in a condo that they never do in a semi on a side street:

• Booking the service elevator, often with a deposit and a fixed window.
• Loading in and out through a dock and a back corridor rather than a front door.
• Working inside building hours rather than starting at 7:30 am.
• Protecting shared hallways, elevator cabs and lobby floors.
• Parking, which in the core is a paid visitor spot or a tight dock slot.

On top of that, our rate tables apply a core area factor of 1.06 for M4, M5 and M6 postal codes, which is where most of Toronto's condo stock actually is. If your unit is downtown or in the central west and east ends, both factors apply: 1.06 times 1.06, a little under 13 percent on top of the base interior price. Units in M1, M2, M3, M8 and M9 get the city factor of 1.00, so only the condo multiplier applies, and buildings out in the L postal codes of the wider GTA get 0.97.

The base rates a condo quote is built from

Every figure below comes from the same interior rate table the estimator uses. All rates assume two finish coats on a prepared surface, labour and standard prep included, paint extra.

There is also a practical floor: most crews will not book a job under about $450, so a single bedroom on its own gets priced as a half day.

How the square footage turns into paintable area

Your condo's listed square footage is floor area, not paint area. The conversion the estimator uses is simple enough to do on paper:

• Wall area = floor sq ft x 2.65, then subtract 12 percent for doors and windows. That works out to roughly 2.33 times your floor area at standard 8 ft ceilings.
• Ceiling area = floor sq ft, straight across.
• Trim = 0.35 linear ft of baseboard and casing per floor sq ft.

So a 700 sq ft unit has about 1,630 sq ft of wall, 700 sq ft of ceiling and roughly 245 linear ft of trim. That is why a quote for a "small" condo can still look like a real number: you are painting well over twice the floor area once the walls are counted.

Worked examples by unit size

These four examples all assume walls, ceilings and trim, 8 ft ceilings, good wall condition, a similar colour, an empty or nearly empty unit, and the condo multiplier of 1.06. The second column adds the 1.06 core area factor for a downtown building. Rounded to the nearest $50. Paint is not included.

500 sq ft studio or junior one bedroom

Wall area is about 1,166 sq ft, ceiling 500 sq ft, trim 175 linear ft.

• Walls: 1,166 x $1.40 to $2.20 = $1,630 to $2,565
• Ceiling: 500 x $1.30 to $2.00 = $650 to $1,000
• Trim: 175 x $2.00 to $3.50 = $350 to $615

That totals roughly $2,630 to $4,180. Apply the condo factor of 1.06 and you get about $2,800 to $4,400. In a downtown building with the core factor as well, about $2,950 to $4,700.

700 sq ft one bedroom

Wall area about 1,632 sq ft, ceiling 700 sq ft, trim 245 linear ft.

• Walls: $2,285 to $3,590
• Ceiling: $910 to $1,400
• Trim: $490 to $860

Total before multipliers is roughly $3,685 to $5,850. With the condo factor, about $3,900 to $6,200. Downtown with both factors, about $4,150 to $6,600.

900 sq ft one bedroom plus den or small two bedroom

Wall area about 2,099 sq ft, ceiling 900 sq ft, trim 315 linear ft.

• Walls: $2,940 to $4,615
• Ceiling: $1,170 to $1,800
• Trim: $630 to $1,100

Total roughly $4,740 to $7,520. With the condo factor, about $5,000 to $8,000. Downtown, about $5,300 to $8,450.

1,200 sq ft two bedroom plus den

Wall area about 2,798 sq ft, ceiling 1,200 sq ft, trim 420 linear ft.

• Walls: $3,920 to $6,155
• Ceiling: $1,560 to $2,400
• Trim: $840 to $1,470

Total roughly $6,320 to $10,025. With the condo factor, about $6,700 to $10,600. Downtown, about $7,100 to $11,250.

If you want your own unit costed with your actual room list, run your numbers through the free estimator rather than interpolating between these.

Walls only is a much smaller number

Plenty of condo repaints are walls only. Ceilings in newer buildings are often sprayed flat white and still look fine, and trim is frequently factory finished MDF that has not yellowed yet.

Strip the ceiling and trim out of the 900 sq ft example and you are left with $2,940 to $4,615 before multipliers, or roughly $3,100 to $4,900 with the condo factor. That is close to half the full number. Ask for walls, ceilings and trim priced as separate lines so you can drop one without renegotiating the whole quote.

What pushes a condo quote up

The multipliers in our rate table are the honest version of "it depends":

Occupancy adds too: 1.08 for a furnished unit the crew has to cover and move around, 1.12 for a lived in unit with kids, pets or a work from home setup.

Ceiling height matters too: 9 ft adds 10 percent, 10 ft adds 22 percent, and anything over 10 ft or in a two storey loft space adds 40 percent. Hard loft conversions in the west end frequently fall into that last band.

A worked case: the 900 sq ft unit, still occupied, going from a dark feature wall scheme to off white throughout, with a few scuffs to patch. That is 1.12 for occupancy, 1.18 for the drastic colour change and 1.10 for fair condition, on top of the condo and core factors. The base $4,740 to $7,520 becomes roughly $8,200 to $13,000. Same unit, very different job.

Paint is a separate cost

The rates above are labour and standard prep. Paint is on top, and in a condo it is worth spending on.

The estimator assumes one 3.78 L can covers 350 sq ft per coat on smooth interior walls. For the 700 sq ft unit, walls plus ceiling is about 2,332 sq ft, times two coats, divided by 350, which is roughly 14 cans.

At contractor grade ($45 to $65 a can, Behr Premium Plus or Dulux Diamond) that is about $630 to $910. At premium ($70 to $95, Benjamin Moore Regal or Sherwin-Williams Emerald), about $980 to $1,330. At designer level ($110 to $140, Benjamin Moore Aura or Farrow and Ball), about $1,540 to $1,960. Add roughly 8 percent for sundries. See our guide to paint brands and grades for where that money goes.

The building rules that change the job

This is the part homeowners underestimate. Before a crew can start, someone has to deal with the corporation.

Elevator booking. Most Toronto buildings require the service elevator to be reserved in advance, often a week or more, and many charge a refundable damage deposit. Some buildings only release the service elevator in two or three hour blocks, which means load in, work, load out on the building's schedule rather than the crew's.

Work hours. Typical condo bylaws restrict noisy or disruptive work to weekdays between roughly 9 am and 5 pm, sometimes with no weekend access at all. A crew that would start a house at 7:30 am and finish at 6 pm loses two productive hours a day. That is the single biggest reason the 1.06 condo factor exists.

Certificate of insurance. Property management will ask the contractor for commercial general liability coverage naming the corporation as additional insured, plus a WSIB clearance certificate. A legitimate Toronto painting company has both ready. If a painter cannot produce them, your building will not let them in.

Low VOC requirements. A growing number of buildings, especially newer towers with shared air handling and older buildings with corridor pressurization, specify low or zero VOC paint in their renovation rules. Most premium interior lines already meet that, but it can rule out cheap alkyd based trim enamels and some oil primers. Ask the property manager for the renovation package before you approve a quote, not after.

If you want an exact quote for a job like this, All Painting is the Toronto contractor we recommend, and they deal with building management packages routinely. Their number is 416-710-4224.

How long it takes

The estimator assumes a painter finishes about 900 sq ft of wall plus ceiling per day with two coats, and a typical crew is two painters. The 900 sq ft unit has roughly 3,000 sq ft of wall and ceiling, so about three and a half painter days, or a bit under two days for a crew of two, plus trim.

In a condo, add a day for elevator windows and restricted hours. Plan for three days on a one bedroom and four to five on a two bedroom plus den.

Before you sign

Check the quote against our guide on how to read a painting quote, and get four things in writing: which surfaces are included, the number of coats and primer plan, the paint product and grade by name, and who books the elevator and pays the deposit. If ceilings are the part you are unsure about, our ceiling painting cost guide breaks out the height multipliers in more detail.

Frequently asked questions

Is painting a condo cheaper than painting a house?

Per square foot of floor, usually yes, because condos have fewer rooms, no stairwells and no exterior. But per square foot of painted surface it is slightly more expensive, because our rates apply a 1.06 condo multiplier for elevator booking, restricted work hours and building access.

Do I need condo board approval to paint my unit?

You rarely need approval for interior paint inside your own unit, but most buildings require you to register the work with property management, book the service elevator and supply the contractor's insurance and WSIB documents. Some buildings also specify low VOC products in their renovation rules.

How much does it cost to paint a 700 sq ft condo in Toronto?

Working from our rates, a 700 sq ft one bedroom with walls, ceilings and trim comes to roughly $3,900 to $6,200 (CAD, before HST) with the condo multiplier applied, or about $4,150 to $6,600 in a downtown M4, M5 or M6 building. Walls only would be considerably less.

Can painters work weekends in a Toronto condo?

It depends entirely on the building. Many corporations restrict contractor access to weekday business hours and do not release the service elevator on weekends. Check the renovation rules before you promise a crew a weekend start.

Does furniture in the unit change the price?

Yes. Our rate table applies a 1.08 multiplier for a furnished unit where the crew moves and covers furniture, and 1.12 for a lived in unit with kids, pets or a work from home setup. Emptying the rooms you can empty is the cheapest thing you can do for your own quote.