Your tenancy agreement outlines the type of repairs your housing association must carry out. You will usually have to repair damage that you have caused.

Your housing association may also carry out repairs which are usually your responsibility if you are vulnerable or receiving income support. Contact your housing association or a local advice agency if you are unsure who is responsible for carrying out the repairs.

The following information only provides an overview of who is normally responsible for repairs. Your tenancy agreement will explain exactly who is responsible for repairs.

• Repairs to the outside of your accommodation
• Electrical repairs
• Cooking and heating appliances
• Plumbing repairs
• Doors and windows
• Structural and other repairs
• Getting the repairs carried out
• Your health is being affected

Repairs to the outside of your accommodation

Your housing association will usually:

• carry out repairs to the walls, roof, chimney, gutters and drains,
• repair external doors,
• repair external windows, but usually not the glass,
• repair paths, fences, walls and gates that it has provided,
• decorate the outside of your home every seven years.

You are normally responsible for your garden and cleaning the gratings.

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Electrical repairs

Your housing association will usually have to repair:

• electrical wiring,
• electrical appliances that it installed,
• ceiling roses,
• sockets and switches.

You are normally responsible for:

• repairing electrical appliances you have installed,
• changing door bells, plugs and fuses.

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Cooking and heating appliances

Your housing association normally must repair:

• solid fuel cookers and stoves that it has installed,
• room heaters,
• fire surrounds.

Most housing association tenants are responsible for repairing:

• the front piece and basket of an open fire,
• cookers that they have installed.

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Plumbing repairs

In most cases your housing association will have to:

• repair boilers,
• repair pipes and radiators,
• clear blocked sewers,
• clear blocked drains if the blockage isn't caused by blocked gratings.

You usually have to:

• repair washers on taps,
• repair plugs for baths or sinks,
• clear air locks in pipes,
• replace cracked baths, sinks and toilets except when the damage has been caused by normal wear and tear.

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Doors and windows

Your housing association will probably have to repair:

• window frames,
• defective doors and door frames,
• hinges, locks and handles on external doors,
• letter boxes.

You are usually responsible for:

• repairing hinges, locks and handles on inside doors,
• repairing bedroom and kitchen furniture,
• draft proofing doors and windows,
• replacing lost or damaged keys,
• replacing broken glass.

You may be able to get your windows replaced if the damaged was caused by vandalism or a riot. However, your housing association will only replace your windows if the damage is confirmed by the police.

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Structural and other repairs

Your housing association is usually responsible for repairing:

• walls, staircases and all structural woodwork,
• tiles if it installed them,
• kitchen units and work surfaces,
• your skirting boards and window sills
• any common areas,
• timber rot.

You will usually be responsible for:

• sweeping your chimney,
• repairing internal plaster cracks,
• anything installed by a previous tenant (if you do not wish to be responsible for these, you must ask for them to be removed when you move into the property),
• all internal decoration.

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Getting the repairs carried out

Contact your housing association if you need repairs carried out. Give as much detail as possible including suitable times for the housing association to investigate the problem. Contact a local advice agency for help if have problems getting your housing association to carry out repairs.

Don't carry out repairs yourself and then withhold your rent or bill your housing association for the repairs. Your housing association could evict you for not paying your rent.

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Your health is being affected

If your health is being affected by the condition of your accommodation you may be able to get help from the Environmental Health Department of your local council.

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