More details on making improvements to your home

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• More details on making improvements to your home

The information on this page is also available in a printed booklet. You can get copies from the Housing Contact Centre, 5-8 Tadlow, Washington Road, Kingston KT1 3JL - contact them on 020 8547 4656 or on Freephone 0800 0778 416. Alternatively you can download a copy - see related documents below.

As a secure tenant you have a legal right to make improvements to your home at your own cost. We have also extended this right to introductory tenants.

You must first ask for our permission before starting any improvement works.

If you make improvements to your home and then end your tenancy or move, you may be entitled to compensation. Compensation is payable for certain improvements made by a tenant, or in some circumstances where the work was carried out by a previous tenant, and where work was begun after 1 April 1994.

Your rent won’t increase as a result of any improvements you make to your home while you or an approved successor to the tenancy remains the tenant.

In most cases we are not responsible for the repair and maintenance of any improvements you carry out to your home.

Use the shortcut links to go to the information you need.

• Improving fixtures and fittings (insulating the loft, draught proofing windows or doors).  
• Enlarging the property (putting up a conservatory or extension or converting the loft space).
• Adding new fixtures or fittings like a new kitchen, a new bathroom, a new heating system or double glazing or installing an additional toilet or shower.
• Putting up an external structure for example a garage,
  a shed or a fence.  

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If you want to carry out any work to improve your home you must first ask us for permission.

You must put your request in writing to your estate manager detailing what it is that you propose to do to improve your home. It is important that you tell us exactly what you plan to do. We will then decide whether to allow you to carry out the improvements. Ask your estate manager for an application form or download one - see related documents below.

When making this decision we will need to consider:

• Building and planning regulations.
• Council policies.
• Whether the improvement will affect your neighbours.
• Whether the improvement will have a negative effect on your property and/or the surrounding area.

It is your responsibility to get any necessary planning permission and to ensure that the works comply with Building Regulations. There will be costs to pay for both of these. For further information contact the Environmental Services Contact Centre on 020 8547 5929.

Your estate manager will let you know when we have made a decision about your request to carry out an improvement. Our aim is to make a decision within 10 working days of receiving your request.

If permission is granted for the improvements to be done,  your estate manager will let you know in writing. There may be some conditions that are attached to the permission. If these conditions are not met then the permission will be withdrawn.

If you don’t get permission first, you can apply after the work has been carried out or when you claim for compensation.

We won’t withhold permission without good reason and will let you know the reasons why if we refuse permission for improvement works to be carried out.   

If we do refuse permission, you have the right to appeal to the County Court.

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The Right to Compensation applies to the following improvements if they were carried out after 1 April 1994:

• Bath or shower, wash-hand basin.
• Toilet.
• Kitchen sink and work surfaces for preparing food.
• Storage cupboards in bathroom or kitchen.
• Central heating, hot water boilers and other types of heating.
• Thermostatic radiator valves.
• Pipe, water tank or cylinder insulation.
• Loft and cavity wall insulation.
• Draught-proofing of external doors or windows.
• Double-glazing or other window replacement or secondary glazing.
• Rewiring, or the provision of power and lighting or other electrical fittings (including smoke detectors).
• Security measures (not burglar alarms).

You can only claim for:

• the cost of materials (but not appliances such as cookers or fridges); and
• labour costs (but not your own labour).

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Compensation is payable when the secure tenancy ends and is calculated using a complicated formula which discounts your original costs over the estimated life of the improvement.

The amount may be adjusted upwards or downwards where we think:

• The original costs were excessive.
• The improvement is of higher quality than we would have carried out.
• The rate of deterioration has been slower or faster than expected.

No compensation is payable where a formula produces an amount less than £50. The maximum compensation is £3,000 per claim (per improvement).

Any grant that you received to help with the original cost of the works will be deducted before we calculate the amount of compensation.

If you owe us any money for the following we will deduct this from any compensation due to you:

• Rent.
• A former tenant debt.
• Damage to the property.
• Any other money in relation to your tenancy.

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You must claim compensation within the period of 28 days before and 14 days after your tenancy ends.

To assess your claim we will need to know:

• your name and address
• what improvements you have made
• how much each improvement cost
• the date the improvements began and finished.

You will also need to show us:

• your letter of permission
• invoices and receipts for the work.  

Ask your estate manager for a compensation claim form or download the form yourself - see related documents below.

When we have received your claim we will send a building maintenance officer to inspect the improvement. When a calculation has been made we will let you know if any compensation is due to you.

COMPENSATION WILL NOT BE PAID IF:

• You didn’t have written permission to carry out the improvement.
• You didn’t carry out the improvement in line with Building Regulations or get the necessary planning permission.
• The improvements were carried out before April 1994.
• Your home has been repossessed because you did not pay your rent.
• You bought your home under the Right to Buy scheme.

A government leaflet on the Right to Compensation scheme is available at www.communities.gov.uk - see related links below.

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You can ask us to reconsider our decision. If you are still not satisfied, you can make a complaint using our complaints procedure. You also have the right to take us to court but you should get advice from a solicitor or your local Citizens Advice Bureaux first. You may be able to get Legal Aid.

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You may be able to make adaptations to your home to make it suitable for someone with a disability. You may also be able to get a grant to help with the cost of this type of work. The same processes apply for asking for permission and making a claim for compensation. Contact your estate manager for further details.

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