Council tenant repairs

Tenant responsibilities

Below is a guide to the kinds of things you are responsible for. For full details of repair responsibilities, read our tenant repairs policy (pdf)

You are responsible for the inside of your home, which includes the following:

• glass - for example windows and doors
• removing radiators for decorating purposes
• bleeding and venting radiators - if you are not sure contact HTS for advice
• supplying and fixing chains and plugs for all sinks or basins
• supplying and fixing toilet seats and toilet pull chains
• clearing a blocked toilet if you have more than one in your home (unless you are in a flat block)
• clearing a blocked sink, bath or wash hand basin (we are only responsible for clearing total blockages) – if the tenant causes the blockage, we will charge for this service
• splashback or wall tiles
• all door furniture, locks, handles and bolts, unless your home cannot be secured - for example, a faulty lock on an external door
• window catches and window locks, unless the window is on the ground floor and your home cannot be secured
• draught excluders
• floor tiles (we will remove damaged floor tiles that contain asbestos)
• gates, hinges and catches
• clothes posts, lines and fittings (except where a communal facility) - posts will only be provided for communal areas, you will have to provide the lines
• rear garden paths
• clearing all surface water gullies within the boundary or your home
• internal decorations including minor cracks (except where we have carried out major works repairs and damaged the decorations when it will be redecorated to an emulsion standard)
• changing light bulbs and fluorescent tubes
• supplying 13 amp plugs or changing plug fuses
• all internal woodwork, except a detached bannister or handrail, or defects caused through rot or structural movement
• curtain rails and pelmets boards if fitted by the council
• damage to up-and-over garage doors left open
• sweeping chimneys for an open fire