• We’ll repair ‘wear and tear’ problems with your home as they crop up. This includes fixing leaking pipes, a back door that won’t close or toilets that won’t flush

• But we also have a planned programme to improve, or replace, major parts in all the homes we own. This covers window, roofs, kitchens, bathrooms, boilers, electricity wiring, front doors etc.

• Find out more about our planned maintenance here

If you rent a home from us

• You’re responsible for some ‘wear and tear’ problems
• We know, sometimes, you’ll want to make other changes to your home too
• But, if you're planning to do anything, you need to check with us first before you start
• We’ll want to say yes where we can, but sometimes there are good reasons for us to say no

If you live in a right-to-buy home

that was once owned by the council or any housing association (including us)

If you’ve been told you need to ask us for permission, please get in touch giving as much information as possible about your plans. Simply get in touch and we’ll come back to you with an answer as soon as we can.

Remember - Don’t start any work or book anything in until we’ve said it’s okay. If you do, you might have to pay for things to be put back again.

to make life easier because of someone’s age or disabilities etc (we sometimes call these ‘adaptations’)

If you’re finding living at home a bit of a struggle (and a lot of us do, especially as we get older), we can help you make some small - and larger - changes. This could include things like:

• Handrails
• Lever taps (which are easier to turn on and off)
• An accessible shower

How to make this happen

• Before we can start work, you’ll need a report from an occupational therapist telling us what needs to be done
• If you don’t already have an occupational therapist contact your local social services team
• The occupational therapist may need to visit you at home to properly understand what you struggle with and what changes are needed
• We’ll contact you to plan in the work once we hear from the social services team

How much will the work cost?

• If the changes needed cost less than £1,500 we’ll do them for free
• If it costs more than £1,500, it will need to be funded by a Disabled Facilities Grant or paid by you
• These grants are ‘means tested’ (so how much support you get depends on how much money you have) and your local council will look at your income and savings and before deciding how much you have to pay (if any)
• We won’t do anything until we know the funding is covered

How long will I have to wait?

• Small changes (such as fitting handrails to staircases or lever style taps to sinks and baths) can be approved by us and will normally be done within a few weeks
• If it’s a bigger job, it could take longer
• Your council will pay for it and arrange the work. They'll be able to tell you how long it'll take