What’s our responsibility and what’s yours?

Our responsibilities

We will:

• Keep the structure and outside of your home in good condition.
• Repair fixtures and fittings inside your home, such as kitchen units, doors, pipes and heating.
• Make sure that water and electricity are supplied safely and that waste is taken away properly.
• If you live in one of our flats, we will take reasonable care to keep common entrances, halls, stairways, lifts, passageways, rubbish chutes and any other common parts in good repair.

We will also undertake repairs to damage caused by you or any unauthorised alterations or services installed. We will recover the costs of these works from you.

This list shows what we are responsible for fixing and replacing for various things or parts of your house.

Bathroom

• Toilet, sink, shower, bath, tiles, splashback panels
• Safety flooring
• Broken traps, drains and pipework

Kitchen

• Kitchen cupboards, units, doors, worktops, splashbacks, tiles
• Safety flooring
• Electrical sockets and wiring
• Sink, taps, broken traps, drains and pipework

Other rooms

• Woodwork, doors, frames, staircase, balustrade, handrail
• Floorboards, floor structure
• Ceilings
• Walls, plasterwork, but not decoration
• Mould growth
• Passenger lifts
• Firefighting equipment
• Repairing minor cracks in plasterwork, and plaster screw pop out repairs

Heating and plumbing

• Boiler servicing and repair
• Cooker gas connection point/bayonet (but not cooker or connection pipe)
• Tanks and pipework
• Radiators and valves
• Storage radiators
• Heat pumps

Electrical

• Electrical systems, wires, sockets, switches
• Repair of smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors
• Light fittings, but not shades or fittings not installed by Melin
• External flood lights
• Door entry systems, scheme manager call systems
• Street lighting (please contact us as it may be Melin or the local council)
• Hard-wired doorbell fitted by Melin
• Electric testing of hard-wired smoke detectors within your home. We will carry out an annual test.
• Replacing batteries in carbon monoxide detectors – please contact us to tell us if they need changing
• Broken extractor fan

External

• Doors, frames, letterboxes, (but not easing because of carpet fitting or decoration)
• Window frames, hinges, handles, vents
• Misted windowpanes or glass door panels
• Paths, ramps, handrails, steps, stairs
• Roof, facias, soffits, chimneys
• Solar panels
• Communal grounds maintenance, tree maintenance
• External and communal area decoration
• Garages
• Boundary walls
• Fences and gates
• Unblocking gutters (including flats and communal blocks)
• Communal washing lines

Your responsibilities

You should keep the inside of your home in good condition. Make sure that you, your family or your visitors don’t damage your home either accidentally or deliberately.

Our maintenance and repairs section will give you more information on keeping your home in check.

This list shows what you are responsible to maintain in your house.

Bathroom

• Toilet seat, shower curtain, bath plugs, toilet roll holder, plugs and chains
• Unblocking traps and drains in the shower, sink, bath and toilet

Kitchen

• Unblocking traps, drains, plugs, chains, pipes serving the sink and washing machine
• Connecting washing machine

Other rooms

• Easing doors after carpet fitting or decorating
• Floor coverings, except in kitchen and bathroom
• Internal painting and decorating

Heating and plumbing

• Gas meter – please refer to your gas supplier
• Bleeding radiators

Electrical

• Cleaning of extractor fan
• Electric meter – please refer to your electricity supplier
• Lightbulbs (except in communal areas), tubes, starters
• Tenant fitted lights
• Tenant fitted doorbells, either battery or mains powered

External

• Unblocking drains and gullies in private garden or serving just your property
• Door locks
• Lost keys
• Broken glass windowpanes or door panels caused by the resident or third party
• Pest control (see our pests page for more information)
• Private garden maintenance, cutting grass, shrubs, hedges
• Improvements made by you to your home with our permission

This does not apply to leaseholders. Please refer to your lease, or contact us if you need to book a repair.

Repairs

We can make urgent and routine repairs, and be available for emergency repairs.

We understand that some residents may require more assistance with repairs that are not Melin’s responsibility. If you or your family cannot undertake the repairs yourself, please contact us and we will put you in touch with someone who can help you.

Making changes to your home

Any work that involves physical changes to the structure, fixtures or fittings of the property will require our permission. You will also need permission for garden buildings other than a shed that is provided by Melin.

Other things that will require our approval

• Fitting a satellite dish
• External decoration
• Installing fencing or boundary walls and gates
• Installing a patio
• Building a garage
• Installing a shed or greenhouse
• Timber or other decking
• Building or converting an attic or loft room

Some things won’t require our permission

These include:

• Fitting a water meter
• Small scale garden work, as long as there is no electrical work, structural changes or the use of water
• Decoration with soft furnishings such as curtains or blinds
• Carpeting, vinyl or laminate flooring; (Please remember you will need to arrange for doors to be eased if they won’t close as we don’t provide this service)
• Changing light bulbs, bath plugs, shower curtains or toilet seats
• Fitting white goods, such as a tumble dryer, as long as connections to services are already available
• Installation of a BT telephone line or cable TV.