If paint is peeling/flaking, you need to think about whether there is any lead paint before scraping anything.

FYI - I accidentally put "asbestos" instead of "lead paint" - I have corrected it.

Lead paint was banned in 1978, so if something like the ceiling wasn't painted since then or the existing paint was over lead paint, you have that problem. I'd be tempted to just put up wallpaper.

I tested it for lead and it was negative! Asbestos I'd assume not as my building goes through a lot of testing, but would that be the reason that the paint is flaking? It's strange it's only in 1 room, so I figured it was humidity-related, as there's uneven drafts in different apartment rooms

The flaking paint could be latex paint over oil without the proper sanding and bonding primer. If you don't see signs of high moisture, I would scrape and sand all the paint that is flaking and coming off, prime with a good bonding primer and 2 coats of good quality paint.

Congrats on your new place.

The flaking could be from a poorly painted ceiling, or not painting a ceiling, after a resolved water issue from above. Is your building brick? Ours is (NYC coop) and we get lots of paint flaking from tiny water leaks coming in through the mortar in the exterior walls.

Do you have a super? If so, ask him what he thinks of the flaking. Also ask if he paints or any of the maintenance guys in your building do. One of the maintenance guys in our building paints for an incredibly reasonable price and does an excellent job. Much less expensive and much less hassle than taking on a contractor in the wilds of the NYC renovation world.

Also, chat up your neighbors and ask if they also have had any ceiling flaking and/or if they know someone who paints well for a good price.

You need to scrape the ceiling and apply a skim coat of joint compound, let it dry, then sand it, Prime and add two coats of paint that should last you for years to come

In general, interior painting is a good DIY project. Don’t need much skill or equipment, and a couple rollers and brushes store away easily for next time.

Fresh paint looks so nice, and if you are reasonably careful, you’ll do an okay job. You can take the time to mask the trim and details well, choose bold fun colors, really make the place your own.

Don’t demand perfection. We’re not perfect, our homes don’t need to be.

Unless your building folks will do it good and cheap, of course.

Walls - fill cracks with spackle, sand a bit if needed, mask and tarp, open windows, and roller away. Usually no need for primer, unless there is some issue with the old paint. Install fresh new switch and outlet covers. Bask in the accomplishment!

Ceilings - I’ve never had the issue you describe, so will defer to others. I stick to white for ceilings.

I agree with John Liu above. It should be doable for you, however, you do need to spot prime any spackling that you do. If you dont know how to spackle, please watch some good u tube videos, so it gets done correctly and you get a nice looking paint job. As to the ceiling, there is a good chance, someone put latex paint over oil based, and yes, that will flake off. In any case, make sure it isnt a moisture issue, and then prime it good with a top quality sealing bonding primer, and put two coats of flat ceiling paint on it. Congratulations on your new home. Please test the walls, to make sure they dont have oil based paint on them, before you decide to paint, or you will end up with the same flaking. Also if you are paint trim, make sure what is on them now too. If it is oil based, you will need the top quality sealing bonding primer on the walls and trim too.

Here is how you test yourself for oilbased paint:-)

It is called the Acetone test. If you have a can of acetone simply soak a rag or cotton ball and rub an area where you think oil paint might be present. If the paint softens or comes off on the rag it's latex if it stays hard and nothing happens it's oil based paint.

Yeh, you do need to prime repairs or they will 'flash' thru the finish paint. The reason is that the repairs are more porous and will absorb paint. That, and repairs have a different texture than surrounding areas that have multiple coats of paint. 'Gardz Problem Surface Solver' is a great product that solves a lot of issues.

Other causes of flaking, crepey/ crackly paint is old wallpaper glue that wasn't sufficiently removed. Also, if surface was cleaned with TSP and not adequately & copiously rinsed. TSP residue will prevent paint from properly bonding. I'm referring to real TSP (tri-sodium phosphate). It is an old school cleaner and could have been used in an old apartment years ago. Not available everywhere anymore (because of the phosphates.) More likely these days to see cleaners labelled as TSP alternative or TSP substitute which claim to not need rinsing....which I would not trust. I always rinse.