THE Melbourne City Council will provide residents and businesses with paint vouchers and cleaning kits in a bid to reduce graffiti in inner city Melbourne.

Lord Mayor John So said the council would remove graffiti in high activity areas in the build-up to Christmas.

"The council is embarking on a pre-Christmas graffiti clean-up to ensure the city is looking its best for the millions of people who come to the heart of Melbourne to shop and relax," he said.

"We expect to remove around 5,000 square metres of graffiti from private property during the initiative."

To maintain the clean-up the council will then provide the paint vouchers and cleaning kits from January next year.