Repairs, maintenance and improvement of council housing

As a tenant, you must seek written permission from us (known as landlord’s consent) for the following:

• alterations, improvements or enlargements of the house, fittings or fixtures
• adding new fittings or fixtures; both internally and externally
• putting up a garage, vehicle runway, shed, pigeon loft, greenhouse, fence, wall, dog run, garden decking, chicken coop or any other external structure. This list is not exhaustive.
• decorating the outside of the house
• laying any other form of flooring other than a carpet, vinyl or lino

You can email us to ask our permission. We will not refuse landlord’s consent unreasonably, but we might place conditions on our consent including conditions regarding the standard of work.

Once the work is completed, certain appliances or fixtures may become our property, for example showers and extractor fans. We will confirm this when we give written consent for the work. We will not cover maintenance of any appliance or fixture for the first twelve months. This will also be confirmed when we give consent.

If you make an alteration or improvement without landlord’s consent, you may have to return the property to its original order. In some cases, we may give retrospective consent depending on the circumstances of the case.

Alterations and improvements to your home leaflet

Compensation for improvements

If you have made alterations or improvements with our permission, you may be entitled to compensation at the end of your tenancy. We will remind you of this and the conditions for making a claim at the end of your tenancy.

Compensation is only available if original receipts are provided for the works.