Repairs - your responsibilities

a   

You are responsible for arranging the repair, renewal or replacement of any items which are damaged by you, your friends and relatives or any other person living in or visiting the property including children. This does not include fair wear and tear.

b

You are also responsible for repairing, renewing or replacing a number of items in your home and garden. These are set out in your tenant's handbook.

c

You are responsible for plumbing in washing machines and for repairing any extra pipework.

d

You are responsible for decorating the inside of the property. You must keep the inside of the property reasonably decorated at all times. We will not allow you to put artex or similar on your walls.

e

You must not make any structural change, decorate the outside of your property or do gas or electrical work to the property without written permission. If we refuse permission, we will give you our reasons in writing. If we give our permission, we may set certain conditions. If you do not meet the conditions, we will take away our permission.

f

All gas and electrical work done in your home must be carried out by a qualified contractor.

g

All other work must be carried out to a professional standard.

h

If you lose your keys or want additional locks fitted you will be responsible for any costs you are charged.

a   

You must report any repairs  that need carrying out to your home which we are responsible for.

b

You are responsible for damage or other repairs which are needed because you did not report another repair to us. For example, you do not report a water leak and this causes damage to other parts of the building.

c

You must allow our employees and contractors to enter the property at reasonable times to inspect its condition, make safety inspections or carry out repairs. We will try to call at a time that suits you. If we cannot carry out the inspection because you do not respond to our request, we will serve a seven-day notice telling you when we will call. If you do not let us in, we will force entry to carry out the safety inspection and leave the property secure when we leave. We will charge you our costs for doing this. If you have any concerns about our employees or contractors asking to enter your home, please contact the council offices for confirmation of their identity.

d

If there is a risk of damage to the property or to other properties, or of injury to people, we may give you reasonable notice that we need to enter the property. We may enter straight away in cases where there is an immediate threat of damage or injury. If we enter your property by force in this situation, we will repair any damage we have caused. We will charge you the cost of getting into your property if you try to prevent us from entering.

e

If you live in a flat or maisonette, you must not fit a CB aerial or a satellite dish without our written permission.

f

You, your friends and relatives and any other person living in or visiting the property (including children) must not damage, vandalise or remove any part of the property.

a   

You are responsible for repairing any damage to the property which is deliberately or negligently caused by you, your friends and relatives or any other person living in or visiting the property, including children.

b

You may be responsible for repairing and maintaining all improvements and fixtures and fittings you install at the property. We will give you advice when you ask us for permission to do the work. These could become our property when you move out. If you take them with you when you move, you must put the property back to the way it was before you improved it. If you don't we will charge you for the work.

c

You are responsible for insuring the contents of your home. We are not responsible for loss or damage to your possessions.

d

We can charge you if we have to:

• repair any item which you have damaged;
• repair an item you are responsible for; or
• put right structural alterations carried out incorrectly or without permission.

We will also charge you our administrative costs in processing this charge. This will be 10% of the value of the repair. We won't charge more than £50 for administrative costs.