Home improvements, standards and disabled adaptations

When a property becomes vacant and a new tenant is going to move in we will:

• Carry out a gas safety check where gas is installed and provide a certificate

• Carry out a safety check of the electrical installation

• Undertake a water hygiene test and provide a certificate

• Remove any rubbish from the property and garden

• Clean the property

• Re-decorate parts, or all of the property if required

• Carry out all of the urgent repairs and try to complete all other repairs whilst the property is empty

• Keep the incoming tenant informed of the date the property will be ready

Sometimes we may leave minor repairs to be completed once the new tenant has moved in. If this is the case, the incoming tenant will be informed of the timescale for their completion. We may also leave work to the garden if this means the property can be let to a new tenant faster. The gardening work will be completed once the property is let.

The Council has used the installation years for the individual elements and applied the Expected Life Spans as below:

• Doors 40 years

• Windows 40 years

• Kitchen 30 Years

• Bathroom 40 Years

• Gas heating boiler 15 Years

This programme is subject to funding being available. The indicated year is the latest year that the it is intended to carry out the work. The work identified could be undertaken sooner for reasons including; tenants refusals, disabled adaptations being needed. or additional funding being available.

At the beginning of each financial year you will be notified by letter if you have been included in the programme for that year.

North Kesteven District Council recognises that housing adaptations can often play an important role in enabling a disabled person to remain in the comfort and safety of their own homes, by restoring or promoting independent living or to use their home more effectively.

The council can fund adaptations to make life easier, under two categories minor and major, if the eligibility criteria is met.

Minor Adaptions might include:

• Visual impairment needs - staircase adaptations or external lighting.
• Access - internal door threshold ramps, or improved access and widened pathway to main entrance.
• Hearing impairment needs - flashing doorbells, smoke alarm alerts.
• Kitchens and bathrooms - window opening equipment, taps or handles, grab rails or handrails.
• General needs - door and wall protectors, altering height of electrical sockets and switches or safety glass.

Our Housing Renewal Officers will deal with any minor request, looking at eligibility and practicality and if approved. To arrange installation of minor aids contact our trusted assessors via the Wellbeing self-referral service on 01522 782140.

Major Adaptions might include:

• Level access showers.
• Ramps.
• Door widening.
• Stair lifts.
• Accessible kitchens.
• Through floor lifts.
• Dropped kerbs and/or vehicle hard standings.
• Extensions and conversions.
• Heating.

For major adaption requests an occupational therapist from Lincolnshire County Council Social Services will visit you to assess your needs and recommend what modifications are necessary and appropriate. These may be different from what you had in mind.

We will work with you and the occupational therapist to find the most straightforward and cost-effective way of adapting your home. Sometimes we will need more information from other people, such as your doctor or medical consultant. 

How long adaptations take will depend on several factors, some of which are outside the district’s council’s control. Such as the workload of occupational therapists, contractor availability and the complexity of work, which means alterations can take anywhere between a few weeks and a year or more to complete, depending upon the size of the job.

If you would like to find out more, contact the District Council’s Customer Services Centre or contact the Occupational Therapy Service (Adult Services: 01522 782155 or Child Services: 01522 782 111). From this you can be referred to Social Services, or if an occupational therapist from Social Services is already seeing you, they may be able to refer you to the district council and tell us what you need.

You have the right to carry out improvements to your council property, such as fitting a new bathroom suite, replacing kitchen units or building a new fireplace.

However, you must first ask for permission and you must carry out any work to the guidelines that we give you.

We will not refuse permission unreasonably, but may make certain conditions.  We will only refuse permission if the work would cause us expense, make it difficult to let the property in the future or give rise to complaints from other residents.

If the proposed work requires building control or planning permission, you must seek this consent also.  If you make an improvement or alterations to your home (including decorations to the outside) without our agreement in writing we may ask you to return the property to how it was before.  If you don’t do this work, we will do the work and you must pay for it.

If successful and you are given permission, we expect the work to be done to a high standard using proper materials.  We would expect large projects to be carried out by qualified tradesmen.

You should then notify us when the work is complete so that we can assess whether the works have been completed to our satisfaction.  We will then confirm this in writing.

Non secure tenants may not alter or add anything to the property.