Here’s Why Every Apartment You’ve Ever Rented Is Painted in “Landlord Off-White”

For nearly a decade, stark white interiors have dominated Instagram feeds, rental properties, and homes for sale. Brilliant white surfaces serve as the foundation upon which buyers can imagine themselves living, and in which the artifacts, gadgets, and bric-a-brac of life stand out in full color: the monstera plant, the thrifted portrait, the smart thermostat. But beneath the galleries that adorn many walls lies one very specific pearly hue: landlord off-white paint.

I’ve endured many a paint squabble with landlords over the years. The worst offense was the hard-boiled landlord who patched up marks with a slightly darker shade of eggshell, leaving my walls spotted for years. I wanted to understand the reasons for the “landlord off-white” hue that everyone seems to know and detest viscerally, so I did the unthinkable: I dove into the belly of the landlord forum beast. What I learned … honestly made sense. Their not-so-secret secret? Semi-gloss, off-white paint.

According to No Nonsense Landlord, a landlord blog, a semi-gloss finish is a time-saver, as it allows landlords to wipe walls clean between tenants and save a long weekend of top-to-bottom painting. Sensible! But why the off-white? Why not a tasteful light gray, or perhaps a warm, subdued taupe? 

Any “landlord off-white” tends to be a more palatable neutral, less expensive per gallon, and, most importantly, it hides dirt. With landlords overseeing multiple units, possibly on multiple properties, time and cost are critical. They can stockpile cans and trust that the color will work in any situation. Ultimately, the least expensive coat of semi-gloss that offers two coats per wall is the most efficient avenue for landlords.

If you’re a lucky tenant, your landlord is a painting pro and doesn’t do the “Landlord Special.” Even though you don’t get to choose your color, your place should hopefully look crisp.

Unfortunately, if you’re not among the lucky, you’re one of the countless others who devote a massive portion of your income to rent payments only to get stuck with the “Landlord Special.” 

The “Landlord Special” is a wonderful rental quirk that you’ve probably come across, whether or not you’ve ever realized it. Have you ever moved into a rental where the door hinges are painted over, where your light switches are caked with paint, and your windowsills are chipping with multiple layers of that bright white hue? You are a victim of — you guessed it — the Landlord Special. 

The “Landlord Special” generally refers to any poorly done repair done by a landlord on a rental property to save money, per Urban Dictionary, but has become sort of a meme and is regularly understood to refer to that specific, bad, caked-on white paint job.

It can be frustrating when your rental doesn’t receive the time and attention you’d have preferred, especially given the considerable monthly bills. But the “landlord off-white” color everyone loves to hate has become (through no fault of its own) iconic.

Today, white paint sells. In 2021 alone, 60% or more of paint companies’ sales fell into the white category, and although buyers and renters are embracing color more than ever before, white walls are still seen as a safe bet among real estate pros, sellers, buyers, landlords, and renters alike.

Meanwhile, millennials and Gen Zers continue to meander from rental to rental, even from city to city, trying to build independent lives and navigate an economy that is stacked against them. With many young people fearing homeownership an unattainable goal, the achromatic “landlord off-white,” devoid of character yet adjacent to perfection, may serve as a grim reminder of their unending social and financial circumstances. Yeah, that was a pretty demoralizing sentence to type out! 

But the pervasive off-white hue is one simple piece of a much richer puzzle. I’ll always look back on this period of my life and recall the layers and layers of caked-on off-white paint covering who-knows how many eras of grime. But more acutely, I’ll remember the vibrancy I brought to these spaces, unconfined by four walls painted in a color of my landlord’s choosing.