Painters in New Town

Painting a home in New Town

The main thing to check before painting in New Town is heritage status. The Hobart planning scheme lists 15 local heritage precincts in the suburb and hundreds of individually listed places. A like-for-like repaint is generally exempt, but new colours or painting bare brick may need approval.

The precincts named in the Hobart Local Provisions Schedule (effective 22 October 2025) include Tower Road, Bellevue Parade, Springvale Avenue, New Town Road, Stoke Street, Harbroe Avenue, Forster Street and Paviour Street. If your street is on that list, or your home is individually listed, talk to the painter about colours before they quote.

Heritage and colour choices

Under the Tasmanian Planning Scheme's heritage code, repainting a previously painted exterior "in a colour similar to the existing" does not need a planning permit. Choosing a noticeably different scheme, or painting brick that has never been painted, can. Homes on the Tasmanian Heritage Register need Heritage Council approval for any repainting.

The City of Hobart can tell you whether your property is listed. For registered places, Heritage Tasmania offers free pre-lodgement advice. Our heritage weatherboard guide walks through both processes.

Older homes and lead paint

Heritage precincts are made up of older streets, so lead paint is a real consideration in New Town. Australian Government guidance says homes built before 1970 are most at risk, and paint with up to 50 per cent lead was used on homes built before 1950. It must not be dry sanded or burnt off.

Ask any painter how they will test for lead, contain dust and chips and clean up afterwards. This matters most if young children or pregnant women live in the house.

Houses and apartments in New Town

New Town has a mix of dwelling types. At the 2021 Census, 67.9% of occupied homes were separate houses, 10.0% were semi-detached houses, terraces or townhouses and 21.4% were flats or apartments. That means plenty of strata work alongside house repaints.

For unit blocks, exterior walls and shared areas are normally common property and the body corporate arranges painting. Our commercial and strata painting page explains how that is funded and quoted.

Costs

As of September 2026, a published Hobart painting cost guide puts a single-storey exterior repaint at $3,600 to $9,000 and a three-bedroom interior at $2,700 to $7,200, GST included. Heritage detail, lead-safe preparation and scaffolding all add to a quote. See the full Hobart cost guide.

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