The Council's Responsibilities

The Council has a legal responsibility to carry out certain repairs in your home and must make sure that certain fixtures and fittings for water, sanitations, gas and electricity are safe and in working order. We must also maintain any equipment that is installed to provide hot water and heating, and in communal facilities. We are responsible for the maintenance and repairs in the communal block areas, and rely on tenants to report any repairs needed inside your home.

We want to make sure that all your home repairs are attended to at the earliest opportunity, so if you see anything that needs repairing please contact us as soon as possible. If you live in one of our sheltered schemes, please tell your visiting scheme manager about communal repairs and they will report them for you.

If the repair is needed as a result of damage, misuse or neglect by the tenant, we might refuse to carry out the repair, or you may be recharged for it. This does not included usual wear and tear and exceptions may be made in individual cases for vulnerable tenants.

The following list gives an overview of the repairs the Council is responsible for:

Outside the home

• Structure
• Roof
• Window frames
• External doors

Water services

• Tanks, cylinders, piping, taps and fittings (not including re-washering)
• Re-washering of stopcocks and ball valves
• Sanitary installation
• Basin, sink and bath (and shower if provided by the Council)
• Toilet pan and cistern
• Communal soil and waste pipes in flats

Electrical installation

• Fuse box/consumer unit and wiring
• Switches, lighting and power points
• Appliances provided by the Council (unless listed in the tenants' responsibilities)

Gas installations

• Piping and outlets from the gas meter to the appliance points
• Appliances provided by the council (unless listed in the tenants' responsibilities)

Electric, gas or solid fuel heating system

• All equipment (unless listed in the tenants' responsibilities)

External decoration

• External decoration is carried out by the Council as part of a programme, not on request by tenants.

Miscellaneous internal items

• Kitchen units unless provided by the tenant (this excludes worktops, doors and drawers).  Please note that it may not always be possible to provide an exact match for some items such as kitchen doors but we will try to obtain the closest match possible.

Miscellaneous external items

• UPVC doors, windows and fittings
• All guttering and rainwater pipes
• Clothes posts or rotary dryers in communal area
• Fences and hedges which are on a boundary between Council land and a public right of way

For more information on repairs if you are a tenant please take a look at our tenants’ repairs and improvements guide for tennats which can be found here (PDF 2MB)