Home improvements and alterations

We hope you’re happy in your home but we understand that you might want to make some changes.

If you want to make alterations that affect the structure of the property or fittings within it, then you must obtain written permission beforehand. 
You cannot make any alterations to your home in the first 12 months of your new tenancy - this is clearly stated in your tenancy agreement.

We will only refuse permission if we have a serious reason. For example, we consider the work to be dangerous, that it might reduce the value of the property or affect the structural integrity.

Changes you must get written permission for include:

• Putting up wall units or replacing a kitchen or bathroom.
• Decorating the outside of the property.
• Any changes to external walls, including garden walls and any extensions.
• Other external improvements, such as laying a patio or creating off-road parking.
• Putting up a TV aerial or satellite dish (where applicable).
• Installing central heating or making any significant changes to the central heating.
• Knocking down any walls or altering the internal configuration of a property, including replacing a fireplace.
• Alterations or improvements to internal walls, including plastering, rendering and dry lining.
• Adding loft or cavity wall insulation or external insulation.
• Replacement of external doors or windows.
• Adding an intruder alarm system.
• Installing laminate flooring.
• Putting a shed in your garden (including communal gardens).

If you carry out any alterations without permission, you are breaching your tenancy agreement and we may ask you to put your home back to the way it was. If you refuse, we may carry out the work and charge you the cost.

To apply for permission, please contact us in writing via letter, email or social media and explain in detail what you want to do. We will respond in writing within 21 days of your request.

Dependent upon your request, we may need to contact you to discuss your request before we are able to make a decision. We may need to arrange for a surveyor to visit prior to any works being approved and also to inspect any major alterations.

Click here for Adaptations