Repairs responsibility
Tenant's property maintenance responsibility
We expect you to treat your home with care, report any defects or needs for repair to us as quickly as possible and to provide access to the property to allow us to carry our repairs and other essential works.
Even if no defects or repairs are reported to us, we will require access to the property to carry out home surveys, gas safety inspections and roof inspections for example.
The table below details what tenant's are responsible for, to ensure their property is well maintained and in good repair.
Please be aware that we will charge for repairs that are not deemed to be reasonable wear and tear. View more information about repairs charges.
| Repairs and maintenance responsibility for tenant's | |
|---|---|
| Inside the home | Outside the home |
| Door keys, including replacement, lost or additional door keys | Gardens, boundary fencing and gates |
| Gaining entry after loss of keys | |
| Changing locks (unless the tenant is 'at risk' or vulnerable) | |
| Carpet strips | Non-communal washing lines and posts |
| Floor types or coverings such as laminate, carpets and non-standard vinyl flooring | Dustbins and household rubbish |
| Supply of gas and/or electric and their meters | Garden sheds or buildings erected by tenants |
| Cleaning gas warm air filters (if accessible) | Pest infestation and pest control |
| Disconnection and reconnection of cookers | Any deliberate damage is the responsibility of the tenant and is chargeable |
| Light bulbs | |
| Shower head, shower hose, sink plugs, toilet seats and chains | |
| Bleeding radiators | |
| Pest infestation and pest control | |
| Any deliberate damage is the responsibility of the tenant and rechargeable | |
Council property maintenance responsibility
Along with our responsibility to certain aspects of your home, we also carry out property modernisations works to keep the home to modern-day standards. This includes electrical and central heating installations, as well as kitchen and bathroom upgrades which are generally carried out every 25 years. Contact us to find out when an upgrade is due to your home.
Repairs timescales
We aim to respond to repairs within the following timescales;
- Emergencies - within 8 hours
- Routine - within 20 days.
| Repairs and maintenance responsibility for the council | |
|---|---|
| Inside the home | Outside the home |
| Communal internal areas such as lifts, stairways, halls, entrances and their intercom/phones, laundry areas, stairway lights and TV aerials | Roof structure, covering, chimney, guttering, rainwater pipes and clips, fascia, soffit and bargeboards |
| Door entry systems | External walls and rendering |
| Gaining entry after loss of keys in designed elderly accommodation | Window frames and external sills |
| Internal doors, including frames, handles, hinges, locks, jambs and thresholds | Glazing, window catches, vents and handles |
| Internal walls, ceilings, plastering and plaster air vents (but not painting and decorating) | External doors, frames and other boards, such as weatherboards |
| Skirting boards, main building structure flooring and council standard vinyl floor tiles | Repairing of faulty external door locks and Hinges |
| Staircase, banisters and handrails | Door numbers, letter plates and letter boxes |
| Bath panels, wooden airing cupboard panels, door frames and bathroom shelving | Drains, gully surrounds and grids, vent and soil pipes |
| Internal pipework boxing | Drain blockage (if pipework not faulty) |
| Kitchen cupboards, catches and handles - please note that cupboards that can't be repaired may be replaced with a different style | Communal gardens and open areas, including washing lines and posts |
| Kitchen cupboard drawers and handles | Paths, steps and other ways of access, if owned by South Holland District Council |
| Kitchen worktops | Garages and outbuildings |
| Electrical wiring, sockets, light fittings and the consumer unit | Fence panels within 1 metre of the public highway (footpath or road) |
| Wired-in smoke alarms and extractor fans | Gas pipework |
| Electric storage heaters and immersion heaters | Draught-proofing to external doors, if fitted by South Holland District Council |
| Light bulbs - strip fluorescent kitchen lights and sealed bathroom lights | |
| Water service pipes, overflow pipes and water tanks | |
| Shower trays, taps and stop taps | |
| Electric shower units, if fitted by South Holland District Council | |
| Toilet flushing systems, bath, hand basin and toilet, seals to bath and sink unit | |
| Toilet seats in designated elderly accommodation | |
| Gas pipework and gas warm air vents | |
| Gas fires, if fitted by South Holland District Council | |
| Radiators, valve, time clocks and thermostats | |
| Extra door and window locks, security chains and spyholes - only if fitted by South Holland District Council | |
| Separate hot-water cylinder jackets | |