Repairs responsibilities

Landlord Regulatory Requirements

All social housing landlords are regulated by the Regulator of Social Housing which sets a series of requirements; these are called the Regulatory Standards.

The Regulatory Standard for repairs is the Home Standard – ensuring that social housing landlords maintain properties and carry out their repairing responsibilities.

Landlord responsibilities

All social housing landlords have a duty to maintain the communal areas in their buildings and grounds. Where a landlord does not properly maintain their communal areas residents have rights to complain and challenge the failure to properly maintain these areas.

 

 

What is a landlord responsible for maintaining?

In communal areas:

  • Lifts
  • Doors and door entry systems
  • Outside walls, doors, gates, windows, windowsills, window catches and window frames including external painting and external decoration
  • Communal water tanks and associated supply pipework
  • Communal heating systems and associated supply pipework and cabling
  • Communal lighting systems and associated supply cabling
  • Emergency exit signage and lighting
  • Communal sprinkler and firefighting equipment
  • Bin chutes, hoppers and storage chambers
  • Grounds, hedges and trees
  • Pathways, steps or other means of access
  • Boundary walls and fences
  • Paving and access roads that do not form part of the public highway
  • Play areas
  • Garage and storeshed blocks
    • Communal bin storage facilities
  • Car parking facilities

 

Shared owner responsibilities

  • Installations for the supply of water, gas and electricity, sanitation and heating including; basins, sinks, baths, shower attachments, WCs, water pipes, waste pipes, electric wiring including sockets and switches, central heating systems, radiators, boilers, immersion heaters and valves
  • Kitchen units and built-in cupboards
  • Internal walls, floors (including floor coverings) and ceilings, doors and frames, door hinges and skirting boards
  • Internal drainage systems excluding stack pipes
  • Plaster work (excluding minor repairs which would normally be dealt with during internal decoration)
  • Boundary walls and fences
  • Broken window glass
  • Replacing door furniture and toilet roll holders

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