Maintenance responsibilities

Some repairs and maintenance within your property are the responsibility of Greatwell Homes. Others will be your responsibility.

Some examples are below but if you are unsure, please contact us and we will be able to advise you. For further information on your rights and responsibilities, please refer to your tenancy agreement.

Please be aware that if you live in one of our shared ownership properties, your, and our, maintenance responsibilities may be different to the list shared below. For further information, please refer to your tenancy agreement or feel welcome to contact us if you are not sure.

For more information on how to repair and maintain issues that may be your responsibility to resolve, please see our maintenance tips.

 

You are responsible for…

  • Contents insurance: We will not replace your goods, furniture or other belongings in the event of theft, fire, vandalism, water damage, or other household incidents. You can arrange your contents insurance with a provider of your choice
  • Most interior decoration (including repairs/skimming of plaster on walls following removal of any wall covering by a customer)
  • Anything that you have installed yourself or that is a non-standard item installed by a previous tenant
  • Replacing the batteries in smoke alarms
  • TV aerials and satellite dishes (unless communal), and aerial/satellite/phone sockets
  • Unblocking sinks, basins, baths and WCs (where the blockage is within your boundary and is not caused by faulty pipework)
  • Servicing, repairing and maintaining your own appliances, including the pipework and installation for washing machines and large household appliances
  • Plugs and chains
  • Gaining entry to your property if you have locked yourself out or lost your keys
  • Garden maintenance (unless communal): including keeping your garden/balcony in a clean and tidy condition free of rubbish and keeping grassed areas cut and hedges trimmed
  • Replacing light bulbs and fluorescent tubes
  • Replacement or additional house and/or window keys
  • Bolts and security chains to gates and doors
  • Broken glass to windows and doors unless it is a stress fracture (has no impact point), or unless it is a result of criminal damage (a crime reference number will be required)
  • Driveway maintenance
  • Any damage caused by yourself, your family, or visitors to the property, even if it is accidental. We will only repair any criminal damage if you can provide a valid crime reference number
  • Toilet seats
  • Letterbox plates
  • Child-proofing measures
  • Anything other than emergency repairs during the first year if you have exchanged properties with someone else
  • Sheds
  • Initial mould and condensation issues (advice will be given by our customer services team on how to treat including provision of mould kits if needed)
  • Electricity, gas and water meters
  • Floor coverings within your home outside of kitchens and bathrooms
  • Ensuring your property is adequately heated and that all rooms and suitably ventilated throughout the year.
  • Some boundary walls and fences. You can see more here

If you are planning on altering the property other than decorating, you will need to ask us for permission before you start. We will want to know what you plan on doing, measurements and plans where relevant, and we will want your assurances that it will be carried out by a qualified person.

We are responsible for…

  • Home structure- inside and out
  • Guttering and downpipes
  • Smoke alarm installation & repair, other than battery replacement
  • Heating and hot water systems, including boiler servicing and gas safety (but not servicing or repairing your own gas appliances)
  • Kitchens, bathrooms and WCs that we have installed
  • Internal communal areas in flats, external communal areas where it is Greatwell Homes land (we can always check this for you)
  • Garages that you rent from us
  • Paths, steps, ramps, etc. leading to and from the property within the boundary
  • Removal of broken tiles (to be replaced with a latex base)
  • Providing vinyl flooring in kitchens and bathrooms
  • Some boundary walls and fences. You can see more here
  • Damp, mould and condensation following initial treatment by customers or if caused by underlying property issue

You will be responsible for maintaining any work you carry out yourself and you may be asked to return the property to the original condition at the end of your tenancy. Full details of this will be provided should permission for the work be given. You may also want to check with the local authority to see if you will require planning permission or if they have any additional requirements.

In communal areas, you are responsible for…

  • Keeping all communal areas free of obstructions where there is joint access or a right of way through a passageway – including not storing or charging mobility scooters, bicycles, motorcycles, pushchairs or any other item in internal communal areas, doorways or footpaths
  • Ensuring shared gates are not bolted or locked without prior agreement with other residents

We are responsible for…

  • Reasonable maintenance of communal entrances, halls, stairways, lifts, passageways, rubbish chutes and electric lighting