Making improvements or alterations to your leasehold property
Get information on what to do if you're a leaseholder of a former Be One Homes or Bolton Council property and would like to make improvements or alterations to your property.
Repairs and maintenance for leasehold properties:
Whilst we’ve tried to include as much information as possible, our webpages might not cover everything. If you’d like to speak with us about your lease, please get in touch. We’re here to help.
Please note that this is just a guide and doesn’t replace your lease.
How do I report a repair for my leasehold property?
You can call us on 01204 328000 to report a repair.
Tap the tab below for more information on which repairs are your responsibility, and which ones are our responsibility.
Which repairs are my responsibility as a leaseholder, and which are yours as the landlord?
Here are your repair responsibilities as a leaseholder and our repair responsibilities as a landlord:
You’ll have to contribute to your share of costs for any repairs completed in the communal areas of your block. We’ll provide this information on an annual basis as part of your service charge estimate.
If you’re unsure, please refer to your lease.
Your repair responsibilities:
- Internal decoration, including the flooring, interior doors, carpets, and paintwork.
- Interior faces of external walls, internal walls, and the internal ceiling (including plasterwork).
- Window glass.
- Any pathways, gardens, and fences which have been designated to the leaseholder in their lease.
- Internal plumbing and wiring, including leaks.
- All walls, drains, pipes, cables, and wires belonging solely to the property.
Our repair responsibilities:
- Window frames and handles.
- Shared windows.
- Exterior walls.
- Roofs and chimney stacks.
- Foundations.
- Rainwater pipes and gutters.
- External waste and soil pipes.
- Sewers and drains.
- Mains gas and water pipes, and electricity cables into the property.
- Communal lifts and staircases.
- External painting to your flat and block.
- Decoration of internal and external communal areas.
- Loft space.
What should I do if there is a water leak?
If you experience a leak from another flat in the building, please contact us on 01204 328000.
We’ll investigate the incident and take the appropriate action to stop the leak.
- If the leak is coming from a tenant’s flat, we'll arrange for a repair to be carried out.
- If the leak is coming from another leaseholder’s flat, please contact them directly to advise them of the issue.
- Please note that it's your responsibility to fix the leak if it's coming from your property.
As a leaseholder, what should I do to make sure my home is gas safe?
Every year, thousands of people across the UK are diagnosed with carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, caused by unsafe central heating systems, gas cookers, and gas fires.
Keep safe in your home with these gas safety tips:
- Make sure only a Gas Safe registered engineer works on your gas appliances. Illegal gas fitters can put your life at risk.
- Always check the engineer’s Gas Safe Register ID card.
- Make sure gas appliances have a regular service and a gas safety check every 12 months.
- Know the signs and symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning: headaches, dizziness, breathlessness, nausea, collapse, and loss of consciousness.
- Install a carbon monoxide alarm.
- If you smell gas, call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999.
As a leaseholder, you’re responsible for the maintenance of all gas appliances in your home. They should be checked every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
The tab below contains more information on gas safety implications if you plan to sublet your leasehold property.
There are important gas safety implications if you plan to sublet your home
If you sublet your home, you're responsible for the landlord’s duties arising under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.
This means that you’re legally responsible for making sure your gas appliances, pipe work, and flues are safe and well maintained.
You must also arrange for an annual gas safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer and ensure that your sub-tenant is given a copy of the annual gas safety check record (CP12). You must provide a copy of the CP12 to new sub-tenants before they move in to the property.
Failure to meet these requirements can lead to criminal prosecution, resulting in a large fine or possibly even imprisonment.
Ensuring your home is fire safe
We provide fire precautions within all our blocks to ensure your safety.
This includes measures such as:
- The provision of communal fire doors. Please note that leaseholders are responsible for ensuring their flat entrance fire door and/or internal fire doors are maintained.
- Fire safety signage to ensure residents and visitors know what to do if they need to escape.
- Automatic smoke detection in the communal areas of your block (where applicable).
- Please note that we do not provide fire extinguishers in communal areas of blocks.
Always remember:
- You should ensure you have smoke detectors in your property and test them regularly.
- Fire doors are important as they stop smoke and fire from spreading. You should always tell us about any damage to communal fire doors.
- Never wedge open any fire door inside your flat or in the communal areas of your block.
- Keep all escape routes in your home and communal areas clear of storage and obstructions.
- Never store contained gases in your home, storage cupboard, or garage.
- Only use the rooms in your property for their intended purpose.
- Don’t overload plug sockets.
Flammable substances:
You must not keep any contained gas such as liquid petroleum gas, Calor Gas (BBQ gas), or explosive substances in your home or communal area. This includes storage rooms, cupboards, balconies, garages, or garden sheds.
If you require medical gases (such as oxygen), please inform us. You can contact us using the details at the bottom of this page.
More information on fire and gas safety is available on our website:
Much of the safety advice on our website is relevant to leaseholders. You can tap here to visit our website’s safety hub for more information on a range of home safety topics.
Get more information on your lease:
Making changes to your lease
Get information on making changes to your lease (if you own a home that used to be owned by Be One Homes or Bolton Council).
Major works to your building (leaseholders)
Learn more about how we'll sometimes need to carry out major/large scale works to your building (for leaseholders of former Be One Homes or Bolton Council properties).
Leaseholder rights and responsibilities
Get information on your rights and responsibilities as a leaseholder (if you own a home that used to be owned by Be One Homes or Bolton Council).
Leasehold repairs
Get information on repairs for leasehold properties (if you own a home that used to be owned by Be One Homes or Bolton Council) and who is responsible for what.
Ground rent and service charges for leaseholders
Get information on ground rent and service charges for leaseholders (if you own a home that used to be owned by Be One Homes or Bolton Council).
Fees for leaseholders and Shared Ownership owners
See the full list of fees for Be One Homes leaseholders, including admin fees, consent charges, and costs for extensions, improvements, and legal documents.
Speak with us about your lease:
- We're here to help. If you'd like more information on your lease, please get in touch.
You can call us on 01204 328000 or email leaseholdmanagement@beonehomes.com. You can also write to us at:
Leasehold Management,
98 Waters Meeting Road,
Bolton,
BL1 8SW.