IMPROVEMENTS
IMPROVEMENTSWe will arrange for someone to visit you to carry out an assessment and discuss your requirements. Contact your Area Housing Office. We may be able to make certain adaptations or put in extra fittings to help you in your home. Examples are extra handrails, ramps to doors or special bathroom fittings.
There is a cyclical planned programme for external decoration to all our properties. Other work such as major repairs and improvements may be carried out as part of the Council's strategic plan. This comprises short, medium and long term programmes of work based on information gathered from periodic surveys. You can find out what is planned in your area from your Area Housing Office. Before any work starts tenants will be informed when work is due to take place and where possible will be consulted about choice of colours or fittings.
You may carry out improvements to your home provided you have our permission. Please contact us to discuss your plans.
We will give you a form to complete giving us the details. We will then consider these. If we don't give permission we will give you our reasons.
You must not start work before we have given you our permission.
All work must be carried by a competent person. Gas fittings must be carried out by a CORGI registered person. Electrical work must be carried out by registered NICEIC installers.
We have the right to inspect the work and to insist on certain ways
the work should be done.
You should check whether you also need to obtain planning permission and
building regulations approval. You are responsible for applying for them.
You will usually be responsible for repairing, maintaining and renewing anything you have fitted. In many circumstances we accept responsibility for maintaining the improvements once you have installed them. However we would not renew them.
If you remove any of the Council's fittings as part of your improvement work, you may have to put these back if you end your tenancy and leave. If you put up external structures such as greenhouses or sheds you must remove these if you leave.
If you end your tenancy and leave your home, you may be able to get compensation for certain 'qualifying' improvements you have done. You can get a list of these improvements from your Area Housing Office.
Such compensation can only be paid at the end of a tenancy. The amount will be based on the original cost and the expected 'life' of the improvement. You cannot get compensation if:
the
amount of compensation comes to less than £50.Warning: If we discover that you have carried out changes to your home without our permission we may make you change it back to its original condition or we may make you carry out further work to meet our standards. If you do not carry out such work we will carry it out ourselves and charge you for the cost of doing so.
Your Enquiry | Improvements to Your Home | Compensation for Improvements