Renfrewshire Council

As your landlord, the Council has a legal duty to repair and maintain your property.

There are 

• certain repairs we are responsible for
• some repairs and maintenance that are your responsibility
• some repairs you have to pay for
• planned maintenance and repairs.

What repairs and maintenance we are responsible for

We will carry out certain repairs and maintenance to your property to make sure it is maintained to a safe standard.

This includes outside repairs to:

• roofs and chimneys
• drains, gutters, and rainwater pipes
• walls, windows, and window frames
• external doors and door frames
• boundary walls, fences, and paths
• bin areas and the poles supporting washing lines.

For inside repairs, it includes:

• walls and ceilings
• heating, hot water systems, insulation and lagging
• plumbing
• electrical wiring, sockets, light fittings, and hard-wired smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
• kitchen fittings, including cooker hoods and extractor fans
• bathroom fittings like sinks, toilets, showers or baths
• doors and door frames inside your home

We are also responsible for communal areas around the property.

If you live in a flat, or in a sheltered housing scheme, we will also repair and maintain:

• shared entrances (including door entry systems)
• halls
• stairways
• lifts.

However, this may be a joint responsibility if other owners are involved.

You have the right to have some repairs to be done within a certain timescale under the Right to Repair scheme.

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What repairs you are responsible for

You are responsible for taking care of your home, including carrying out minor repairs and decorating including:

• repairing or replacing minor fixtures and fittings such as curtain rails, light bulbs, toilet seats or plugs
• replacing keys or fitting extra locks
• maintaining internal decoration
• maintaining or replacing floor coverings we've supplied in kitchens and bathrooms
• maintaining or replacing shower curtains we've supplied in bathrooms
• repairs to television aerials and reception equipment, except in multi-storey flats and sheltered housing complexes.

You are also responsible for any non-standard fixtures or fittings you have accepted as part of the property including floor coverings, garages, and sheds.

As a tenant you must:

• report any damage or repairs you need to your home or a communal area
• allow us access to your property so we can carry out repairs, inspections, maintenance, and annual gas servicing
• ask for permission before you make any alterations to your home.

If you move out of your house, you must leave it in a clean and tidy condition.

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Repairs you have to pay for

You are responsible for any damage that you, your family, or visitors to your home have caused.

If we repair this damage, you will have to pay for these repairs.

We will give you an estimate for the cost of the repair, including the administration charge. If you cannot afford to pay it all at once, we can arrange for it to be paid in instalments.

If you believe the damage was caused by vandalism, you must report the matter to the police and get an incident reference number. 

You'll be charged for the cost of the repair. We'll give you an invoice with the charges for the repair and how to pay it.

However, you may be able to appeal against the cost of the repair when you get the invoice.

For more information on repair responsibilities, see our Housing Repairs Policy [458KB] .

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Planned maintenance and repairs

We schedule general maintenance and repairs in council properties. Many of these jobs involve replacing items, working at height or repairs between us and private owners in the same building.

See responsibilities for repairs in common (shared areas).

In some cases, it is of benefit to carry out larger scale repairs on a programmed basis rather than carrying out individual responsive repairs.

All repairs which fall into this category will be inspected before we plan the work. The length of time to complete these repairs will vary depending on the type of work required, but generally we complete these works within three months.

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