Repairs and maintenance

Repairs - your responsibility

You are responsible for maintaining and repairing the inside of your property. You need to arrange for a qualified tradesperson to carry out any repair that is your responsibility (for example inside your home). If you ask us to repair something that is your responsibility, we may do it in some circumstances. In that case, we will charge you (see Emergency repairs).

Your exact responsibilities will depend on your lease.

Repairs - our responsibility

We are responsible for maintaining and repairing the structure and the common parts of your building. Your lease allows us to charge you a fair share of the cost of these works.

To help you budget for repairs, we will send you  throughout the year. They will confirm work we have done to your block and your share of the costs.

You will be billed for repairs on your statement. This is through your 'actual service charge' invoice, issued in June each year.

If you need to report a repair that is our responsibility, please contact our repairs service. 

Emergency repairs

We will carry out emergency repairs to a leasehold property if:

• making safe is part of a wider emergency for the block
• not making safe might put you or your neighbours in danger

We will only "make safe" in dangerous situations. You will need to carry out any follow-up works yourself. You should call out your own contractor to do this. If we do carry out any follow-up work, we will charge you for it.

Gas servicing

You must have a gas safety inspection every 12 months and send us a copy of the certificate. We will send you a reminder each year to renew your certificate, once we log it.

Our repairs service offers a gas servicing scheme for leaseholders at a competitive rate. We can service and inspect your gas appliances. This includes your boiler, gas fire, gas cooker, and carbon monoxide detector. We will provide a Gas Safety (CP12) certificate for your records.

You can add the cost of the safety check to your service charges. You can then pay it in monthly instalments.

Get further details and an application form (Word doc, 102 KB)

If your lease allows it, we may do the service. We will recover any costs from you if you do not provide a copy of your certificate.

Leasehold alterations

As a leaseholder, you have the right to improve your home. Your lease requires you to get our written permission to improve or alter any part of the property that is Gateshead Council's responsibility.

We must give written consent to any alterations by the landlord. If your proposal is accepted, you will usually get a consent letter. It will list conditions you must fulfill.

You must get this consent before contacting the Planning Department or Building Control. Without the council's written consent, you will breach your lease. If you make unauthorised alterations, you may have to restore the property to its original condition. We may also take legal action against you.

Besides landlord consent, you may need other permissions to support your application. These include building control, planning, and fire regulations. Again, only approach these after getting written consent from us.

Your application must clearly state your plan, who will do the work, and how. Your contractor may need to be an approved contractor (for example for gas appliances).

To support your request, you must provide:

• details of what you want to do, including a drawing or a plan
• who will carry out the works
• specification, including details of how the work will be done

A building surveyor may need to visit to see what you intend to do, before a final decision is made. If you want to change your leasehold home, or aren't sure if you need permission, please email us.

We will respond to your request within ten working days. If we are unable to do so, we will inform you of the reason(s) why. If we refuse permission, we will give you our reasons in writing.

If you request permission before you carry out the work, there will be no charge. However, you will be charged if you need retrospective permission.

If you sell your property in the future, you must provide proof of any work done to it. This includes confirming you got permission for it.