It is important that once you receive the keys to your new home you conduct a full inspection to ensure that it is in the condition it is supposed to be in and to draw the landlord’s attention to any issues that will need to be dealt with. It is the responsibility of the council or housing association landlord to ensure that you receive a home in decent condition and to carry out necessary repairs to your home.

When you move into a council or housing association home:

1. It should be clean and fit to live in
2. Any necessary repairs should have been completed
3. Gas, electrical supplies and all plumbing should be in working order and safe
4. All windows and doors must be secure and in proper working order
5. The garden should be free from rubbish
6. If there are no working smoke alarms in your new home, ask your landlord if they can be supplied and fitted

Domestic appliances, furniture and carpets

Usually council or housing association homes are unfurnished. The tenant is responsible for providing their own furniture, appliances, carpets and curtains and to then take responsibility for them. There are usually connections for a washing machine, fridge and cooker. If help is required to furnish the new home check with the council as a budgeting loan may be available.

Decoration

A landlord is usually only responsible for decoration costs resulting from damp or disrepair damage to the home and damage caused by any repair work undertaken. Tenants are usually responsible for all other decoration.

If a house is in a poor condition it is worth asking the landlord to pay something towards redecoration costs when you start your tenancy.

Some councils and housing associations provide decoration vouchers which can be used to buy materials in local DIY stores.

Repairs your landlord is responsible for

• The structure and exterior of the building – including the roof, walls, windows and external doors
• Central heating, gas fires, fireplaces, flues, ventilation and chimneys
• Water supplies including pipes, basins, sinks, toilets and baths
• Drains and guttering
• Gas pipes, electrical wiring and any appliances provided
• Common areas such as lifts and communal entrances

Usually the tenancy agreement will set out any other responsibilities the council or housing association has. If it doesn’t ask what they are and ask to have them included.

How to report repair problems

Councils and housing associations will have in place a policy for reporting and dealing with repairs. They should give you this at the start of your tenancy.

How long should repairs take?

After a repair request is made the landlord should be able to tell you how they are going to deal with it and how long it is likely to take. Your tenants’ handbook or tenancy agreement may tell you how long a particular type of repair should take to be fixed. For council tenants, some small repairs may be covered by the right to repair scheme.

If repairs are taking too long or the agreed schedule isn’t being kept to then tenants should again contact the landlord. It is a good idea to take before during and after photographs of any repairs as they are underway, just as a safeguard, in case decoration is required after the job is completed.

Problems during repairs by your landlord

Should repairs or maintenance work organised by your landlord cause damage to your home then the landlord should arrange for it to be put right. This also includes any redecorating required due to disrepair. You can ask for a rent reduction if you can’t use all or part of your home because of repair work. If your landlord refuses to reduce the rent, you could take them to court to claim compensation.

Health and safety standards

Your home must be safe and fit to live in when your tenancy starts and throughout your tenancy.

Your landlord is responsible for:

• Certifying the safety of the gas supply and gas appliances they provide
• All electrical wiring and any electrical appliances that have been provided