Repairs we are responsible for

As part of your Tenancy Agreement, there are certain repairs that we will carry out to your home.

These include:

• the structure and exterior of the property (including any stone walls, but not fencing, surrounding the property)
• the roof, chimney stack and chimney pots
• walls, ceilings, floors and foundations
• gutters, soffits and fascias, pipes and drains
• door and window frame furniture
• removing and replacing fluorescent lighting - in the longer term these will be replaced with LED lighting
• paths and steps giving access to the property
• sanitary installations such as baths, washbasins, sinks, WCs and soil pipes
• boundary fences, gates and walls connected to public land

We are also partly responsible for some of your services including gas piping from the meter, water heaters, fireplaces, fitted fires and central heating.

Water
We are responsible for water pipes and taps (including stop taps).

Electricity
We are responsible for electric supply from the consumer unit including sockets and switches.

Gas (heating)
We are responsible for ensuring that you are safe in your home and that our gas appliances are regularly serviced and maintained.  The meter and supply of gas to your home is your responsibility. 
It is important that airbricks and other ventilation channels are not blocked or obstructed.
Should one of our fixed gas appliances break down, please contact us to let us know.

Gas (safety)
We will maintain and check all gas heating and hot water appliances, gas installation pipework, flues and chimneys on which gas appliances are installed so that any risks are minimised. We will visually inspect tenant owned gas appliances to ensure they are safe.  This is in accordance with the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.

To comply with gas safety regulations, we aim to have a valid Landlords Gas Safety Record (LGSR) for 100% of our properties at any time in the year.

Stroud District Council’s Gas Safe registered engineers will carry out a safety check every year. 

As a tenant, it is your responsibility to allow our engineer access to your home, clear access to appliances and gas meter, to keep appointments that are made for your annual gas service, or contact us to rearrange an appointment you cannot keep (please refer to your tenancy agreement for further information).

If you need to rearrange a gas servicing appointment, please contact us.

If you do not give us access, you are preventing us from carrying out our legal obligation contained within the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and you are in breach of your tenancy agreement.

If you do not telephone to make an alternative appointment, we will cap your gas supply where possible, or commence with legal action to gain entry to your home.  You will be liable for all associated costs.

If you wish to install a new gas appliance, please use Request it pages.

If you wish to arrange a new gas supply, please use Request it pages.

Solid and dual fuel heating
To make sure you are safe in your home, we regularly check and service your solid fuel appliances.

Faulty solid fuel appliances can be dangerous, so it’s important that you allow us to check them regularly.

We will arrange for the appliance to be serviced on an annual basis.  If you have any issues with your solid fuel appliance, please contact us to arrange for an engineer to visit.

Please note, if you have a purpose provided vent for your heating appliance, please do not block this, as all heating appliances that produce heat from the combustion of carbon based fuels such as gas, oil and solid fuels, including wood burners, require enough fresh air from outside for complete combustion and to enable the products of combustion to safely exit through the chimney to the outside

Other important areas:

Asbestos
Where we know about any asbestos in your home we will ensure that any asbestos-containing material is maintained in a safe condition. 

Never try to remove any asbestos-containing material yourself.  If it’s been left in your home it will be in good condition.  It will be covered or out of reach, so removal won't be necessary.

We've carried out a programme of surveys to identify where we have asbestos in our properties.  All the findings from these surveys are recorded on our Asbestos Register.  If you'd like to ask about your home this information can be made available by contacting our Asset Information and Support team on 01453 766 321.

We've also got a leaflet, ‘The facts about asbestos’ which addresses some common concerns and questions you may have about this material.  A copy of this can be found in our ‘How to guides, videos and useful downloads’ section.

Carbon monoxide alarms
Carbon monoxide (CO) is known as the 'silent killer' as it is colourless and odourless.  It can come from faulty appliances powered by any fuel such as gas, solid fuel and oil fuels.

Carbon monoxide can be produced when an appliance has been incorrectly fitted, badly repaired or poorly maintained. It can also occur if flues, chimneys or vents are blocked.

CO alarms detect the presence of this poisonous gas.

We fit a CO alarm in our tenants' homes with an open flue or chimney. If you are concerned and don’t have a CO alarm please contact the our repairs team on 01453 766 21 or email our Property Care Team.

If your alarm is not working, please contact us and we'll arrange a repair for you.

Smoke alarms
Mains-powered smoke alarms with a backup battery are fitted in all our properties.  We will service these alarms once a year when we visit your property to check other things (such as a gas service), however it is your responsibility to check these at all other times.

Wood Burner Stoves
Permission for the installation of wood burners will be refused due to significant risks in respect of health and safety.