Improvements to your home - improvements and alterations you can make

Your tenancy agreement gives you the legal right to make alterations and improvements to your property.

If you are thinking about carrying out an alteration or improvement to your property, you must ask us for permission before you do any work. You will need to fill in an application form that can be downloaded here. You can also download our guidance notes here.

You will need to complete the form and return it to the address on our contact us page before you plan to start the work.

Depending on what you want to do, you may need to get planning permission and building regulation approval from the Council.

Don't start work until you have got all the permission and approval you need - you could end up having to put it all back again. You will have to pay the cost of this work if we have to do it for you.

There are many alterations that require permission. Each request will be considered individually. We have included some typical examples below:

Artexing walls and ceilings
Tiling floors and walls
Laying laminate flooring
Installing fitted kitchen units
Fitting a bathroom suite or electric shower
Replacing inside and outside doors
Removing inside walls or building partitions
Building fireplaces or fire surrounds, including replacing or installing gas or electric fires
Fitting wood panelling or cladding
Fitting built-in wardrobes or cupboards
Putting up wall lights and ceiling lights, and changing electrical wiring
Altering the central heating system, for example, pipe work and radiators
Building sheds, garages, greenhouses, outhouses and decking
Fitting close-circuit television systems (CCTV)
Fitting security alarms
Installing driveways and dropped kerbs

This is not a complete list, so please check any alterations with us first.

It is important that permission is granted for all improvements as some alterations require qualified tradesmen to undertake the work. Therefore we must ensure that the proposed work will be carried out to an acceptable standard and will not affect health and safety.

We will let you know our decision in writing within 20 days of receiving your application.

If we agree, and you have got the other permissions you need, go ahead and do the work.

If we do not agree, you must not do the work. You could end up having to put it all back again and we could take legal action against you for breaking the tenancy agreement.

You can appeal against the decision through our complaints procedure.

Contact us for more information.

You must tell us as soon as the work is finished. We will visit you to check that everything is satisfactory. If it isn't, we will ask you to put the work right or to restore the property to how it was before.

You are responsible for ensuring the alteration / improvement work is carried out by a competent contractor and it is completed to a high standard.

You will be responsible for maintaining the alteration / improvement after the work is done and for keeping it in good working order.

If you leave your home, you may be able to take your improvement with you. If this is the case, you must 'make good' after you've removed the improvement, by replacing the item, filling holes and repainting for instance. If you don't do this, we may charge you for putting it right.

If you install a gas appliance (such as a fire), the original appliance must be reinstated if you leave.

If you leave the improvement behind when you go - because it's an essential part of the property, for example a kitchen, you may be eligible for compensation. Please click here for further information.

Useful Information

You should not fit ceiling fans in rooms where there is also a gas fire fitted;
If you have anything fitted that restricts access for any necessary work it is your responsibility to remove it so people can get access to the job. For example, you may have to take up laminate flooring if we need to get under the floorboards;
If we do improvements to your home, we will make a reasonable effort to match up your existing decoration but we cannot accept liability if we fail to do so; and
You must not paint boiler casings, electric storage heaters and gas fires or heaters.

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