Flere beboere i huset vil male gangen, hvis udlejeren betaler for malingen.

Flere is used with countable nouns, so flere beboere means more/several residents.

Use mere with uncountable nouns or more abstract ideas, for example:

• mere maling = more paint
• mere tid = more time

So:

• flere beboere ✔
• mere beboere ✘

Danish often uses a bare plural noun when the meaning is indefinite.

So flere beboere means several residents / more residents, not the residents.

Compare:

• beboere = residents
• en beboer = a resident
• beboerne = the residents

Here, the sentence is talking about some residents, not a specific complete group, so beboere is the natural form.

I huset is a prepositional phrase that describes which residents we mean: the residents in the house.

So:

• beboere = residents
• beboere i huset = residents in the house

This is very similar to English structure.

Another possible Danish phrasing would be husets beboere = the house’s residents / the residents of the house, but the version in your sentence is very normal and natural.

Because vil is a modal verb, and in Danish, modal verbs are followed by the bare infinitive—that is, the infinitive without at.

So:

• vil male = wants to paint / will paint
• kan male = can paint
• skal male = must / is going to paint

Not:

• vil at male ✘

This is similar to English, where we say will paint, not will to paint.

It often does both.

In Danish, vil can mean:

• will in a future sense
• wants to
• is willing to
• intends to

In this sentence, vil male gangen, hvis ... suggests that the residents will / are willing to paint the hallway if the landlord pays for the paint.

So it is not just a neutral future marker. It often carries some sense of intention or willingness.

Gangen is the definite singular form of gang.

• en gang = a hallway / corridor
• gangen = the hallway / corridor

Danish usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

So:

• gang
  • -en → gangen

Udlejeren means the landlord.

It is definite because the sentence refers to a specific landlord—presumably the landlord of that house. In context, that person is treated as known.

Compare:

• en udlejer = a landlord
• udlejeren = the landlord

This is very common in Danish when the person or thing is understood from the situation.

Because hvis is the normal word for if in a condition.

Here the sentence means: the residents will paint the hallway if the landlord pays for the paint.

Use om mainly for whether:

• Jeg ved ikke, om han kommer. = I don’t know whether he is coming.

So:

• hvis udlejeren betaler ... = if the landlord pays ... ✔
• om udlejeren betaler ... would usually mean whether the landlord pays ..., not a condition.

Because hvis introduces a subordinate clause, and subordinate clauses in Danish do not use the normal main-clause verb-second pattern.

So in a subordinate clause, the order is usually:

conjunction + subject + finite verb

That gives:

• hvis udlejeren betaler

In a main clause, Danish usually puts the finite verb in second position. But after hvis, you are inside a subordinate clause, so the word order is more straightforward.

Because Danish often uses the present tense in clauses about the future, especially after words like hvis.

So:

• hvis udlejeren betaler literally looks like if the landlord pays / is paying
• but in context it means if the landlord pays in the future

English does something similar:

• If he pays, we’ll do it.

Not normally:

• If he will pay, we’ll do it.

So this is actually quite close to English usage.

Because betale for noget is the normal expression for pay for something.

So:

• betale for malingen = pay for the paint

Without for, betale often takes an amount directly:

• betale 500 kroner = pay 500 kroner

A useful contrast:

• Han betaler 500 kroner. = He pays 500 kroner.
• Han betaler for malingen. = He pays for the paint.

Both can be possible in Danish, but malingen refers to the specific paint needed or already understood in the situation.

• maling = paint, in a general or material sense
• malingen = the paint, the specific paint being discussed

So here, udlejeren betaler for malingen suggests something like the landlord pays for the paint needed for the job.

Also note:

• male = to paint
• maling = paint

Even though maling may look a bit like English painting, here it means paint as a substance.

Yes. You can say:

Hvis udlejeren betaler for malingen, vil flere beboere i huset male gangen.

That is also correct and very natural.

When the hvis-clause comes first, the main clause shows the normal Danish verb-second pattern, so you get:

• ... vil flere beboere ...

not:

• ... flere beboere vil ...

So the position of the clause changes the word order of the main clause.