If you’re a Secure or Assured tenant (but not an Assured Shorthold tenant), you have the right to alter your home, providing you get our written permission first.

As a responsible Landlord, we want to ensure your home is safe. For this reason you must ask Luminus for written permission before making any alterations or improvements to your home. This includes changing light pendants, light switches and mains sockets. In particular, if these are replaced with metal fittings and not installed by a qualified electrician, these could be dangerous.

Other changes to your home that you may not realise cause a health and safety risk include:

• Conservatories that restrict ventilation for gas cookers or boilers
• Flueless gas fires

If you have made any of these changes without Luminus’ written permission, or have any questions, call us on 0345 266 9760 immediately.

Alterations can include:

• changes to your kitchen or bathroom fixtures and fittings
• changing fixtures and fittings that relate to water, gas or electricity
• knocking down walls inside your home or in your garden
• putting up sheds or greenhouses or other structures in your garden
• making a dropped kerb and hardstand
• putting up external aerials – including CB or TV aerials, or satellite dishes
• fitting additional locks, or
• putting up conservatories or porches.

Before going ahead with the work, you must write to the Surveying Services Team at Brook House, explaining what you want to do.

We will only say no if we think your plans would make your home less safe, more expensive to repair, or if they would reduce the value of the property. If we agree, the work must comply with building regulations and you must also get any other permission you need – for example, planning permission from the council.

No work should be undertaken until you have written authorisation from us.

Wooden/laminate flooring:

If you decide to put down wooden or laminate flooring, please use non-glue products. We sometimes have to lift flooring to sort out cables, pipes or drainage. If this happened, we wouldn’t accept responsibility for any damage to your flooring.

Responsibilities for decorating

You are responsible for decorating the inside of your home and for keeping it at a good standard. We are responsible for decorating the outside of your home and for decorating any communal areas in blocks of flats.

Will you increase my rent if I carry out alterations to my home?

We will not increase your rent as a result of you altering your home at your cost.

Will I have to leave my home as I found it when I move out?

We will arrange to inspect your home and assess the condition, durability and safety of any alterations you have made. If the alterations fail to meet our standards you will be asked to rectify the problem or restore your home to its original condition. If we have to carry out the reinstatement works, you will be charged for the cost of this work.