Landlord's permission required?

Does anyone know if you need your landlord's permission before you paint your house? I only want to go over the walls in white (they're already white but a bit grufty) so it's not like I'm doing anything crazy. Would it be alright to ask him for some money towards buying paint, etc since it's his house not mine?

It depends

It depends on whether the house is privately let or is a council house. You'd have to look in the agreement or you could phone them to ask.

I know the council wouldn't agree to it as they usually like their houses to appear the same. A landlord might agree to it as they'd be getting their house decorated at no cost to them provided they approved of the colour which they might want to see first.
As for asking them for money towards it, you could try and you might be lucky. It would certainly be cheaper than doing it themselves but would you be doing it yourself or getting a professional in to do the job. That could make a difference to the landlord.

Landlord's permission required?

Kittiekat if your painting inside the house there is no problem. As you have stated you are only painting them white and nothing to crazy!
If your landlord is council or housing association they usually get a professional to paint the outside of the property. I believe its the same for a private landlord. This is because they use special paints!
If necessary ask your landlord when the last time they painted the outside anyway. It should be done every 5yrs approximately!

Hope this information helps.