Which repairs are my responsibility? 

Taking care of your home is a partnership between you, us and the contractors we use to complete repairs.

You are responsible for keeping your home clean, decorating inside, not causing damage and carrying out certain repairs.

We are responsible for carrying out repairs which are the council’s responsibility in your tenancy agreement or lease.

We maintain your home using a variety of contractors. Our main contractor for day-to-day building repairs is Mears. Our main contractor for gas safety and servicing is Smith & Byford.

Check the lists below to find out who is responsible for which repairs in our tenanted homes.

If you are a leaseholder your responsibilities will be different - you should check your lease for details of the repairs we do and the repairs that are your responsibility. You can also check our Responsive Repairs Policy 2021 (PDF, 135KB)  for guidance.

If you're not sure how to describe your repair, you can use our report a repair tool (opens in new window) to identify the problem and report a repair online. 

If a repair is your responsibility, you can check these handy how-to guides for advice. 

Repairs we are responsible for:

  • The structure and the outside of the property, including any shared parts of the building

  • The roof, walls and foundations

  • Drains, gutters, and external pipes

  • Basins, sinks, baths, toilets (excluding seats), flushing systems, waste pipes and tap washers

  • Resealing around sinks, showers, baths and basins.

  • All services, including gas and water pipes, water tanks and electrical wiring

  • Electrical sockets and light fittings (but not plugs, fuses, light bulbs or tenants’ own appliances)

  • Water heaters, boilers, fireplaces, fitted fires and radiators

  • External doors and door frames

  • Window glass and frames (except any damage that falls under the tenant’s responsibilities)

  • Chimneys and chimney stacks

  • Ceilings, structural cracks or holes in plaster work (tenants should be responsible for minor cracks and holes see tenants’ responsibilities) and skirting boards

  • Paths, fences and steps (where there are health & safety issues)

  • Garages

  • Stores that form part of the home

  • Communal entrances, halls and passageways, stairways and lifts, lighting and security systems, dryers and lines

  • Door entry systems

  • Hard wired smoke detectors

Repairs you are responsible for:

  • Door furniture (e.g. handles and knobs), hinges and cupboard latches

  • Internal doors and door frames

  • Replacing light bulbs, fuses and the tenants own electrical appliances

  • Easing internal doors to fit carpets etc.

  • Your own electrical equipment

  • Broken pulls for high-level toilet cisterns, toilet seats, sink and bath plugs*

  • Unblocking waste pipes, sinks, wash basins, baths and toilets

  • Cracks in plaster that are not structural

  • Mould treatments due to condensation

  • Bleeding of radiators

  • Internal decoration

  • Total loss of power where it is caused by a lack of credit on a prepayment meter

  • Changing batteries in smoke alarms and advising SHP if the alarm needs attention

  • Regularly testing of battery or hard-wired smoke detectors

  • Maintaining any additional door locks fitted by the tenant

  • Getting back into the property if locked out, the replacement of lost or damaged keys, and the replacement of locks made necessary by the losing of keys

  • Television aerials or satellite dishes (unless communal) and any damage to property or neighbouring property caused by their installation

  • Clothes posts or rotary dryers and lines (unless communal)

  • The maintenance of appliances, fixtures, fittings, extensions and additions (where installed by a tenant with or without permission unless formally adopted by the council)

  • Pest control, except in common parts of blocks of flats.

  • Any fixtures and fittings added by previous tenants, including within the rear or front garden and/ or front/ rear drive.

  • Any damage which is not as a result of fair wear and tear (whether the damage is accidental or deliberate).