Making changes to your home
We recognise that making changes can help turn your house or flat into somewhere that feels more like home.
While some improvements are permitted in your Tenancy Agreement, other proposed changes require our consent (known as Landlord's Consent).
Eastlight will not charge you to request permission and will provide limited initial guidance on what changes we allow. However, as a discretionary service, depending on the change you want to make, we may charge to process and administer your request and/or visit and inspect your home to assess your proposal.
Approval is not guaranteed, so please read this page thoroughly and carefully consider your proposal before submitting your request. Further information of how our fees are set is provided in the ‘will I be charged a fee?’ section below.
To help us make a decision on your application, please present your proposals clearly with as much detail as possible including who will undertake the work, specifications, materials, layouts, existing & proposed drawings and annotated photos. Your request will be declined if you don’t provide us with enough information.
For more information on Electric Vehicle Charging Points click here and for Fencing and Outbuildings click here.
Please read this page to understand if your planned changes require our consent and refer to the Making an Application section below to complete the application form.
There are many things you can do to your home to make it your own that do not require our consent.
This includes:
- Internal decorations and picture hooks
- Shelving and TV brackets on internal walls
- Wall mounted storage
- Curtain rails and blinds
- Carpeting
- Loft boarding (6m2 max around access/opening)
- Utility infrastructure upgrades by your suppliers (excluding EVCPs)
Depending on the type of work you undertake, you may be responsible for any future repairs and maintenance and may be asked to remove them at the end of your tenancy or be charged for their removal.
All work must be completed to a high professional standard, so we strongly advise against carrying out works on a do-it-yourself (DIY) basis.
Before you begin any work inside your home, please contact our Compliance Team to check if your home contains asbestos, and what you need to do, if so. Please email: ComplianceTeam@eastlighthomes.co.uk
To make sure your home and surrounding areas remain safe for you, we will not give permission for works which:
- Remove features that could limit accessibility for individuals with specific needs (unless supported by an Occupational Therapist (OT) Assessment)
- Create maintenance challenges and higher maintenance costs
- Introduce health and safety hazards and/or fail to meet legal standards
- Would breach planning/building control regulations Compromise security of the premises
- Are beyond the tenanted premises or impact on shared or communal areas
- Would make the property difficult to re-let or unlikely to appeal to future tenants
- Could devalue the property
Examples include:
- Open fires
- Log/wood/solid fuel burners
- Pet flaps
- Conservatories or similiar
- Loft conversions
- Full gas system and/or electrical system replacement
- Hard flooring on first floor flats and above (e.g. laminate, hardwood, etc.)
- Car ports and pergolas (unless freestanding and not attached to the property)
- Decking
- Ponds
We are unable to give our consent for any type of work if:
- You’re on a starter tenancy (except for Aids and Adaptations)
- Your rent account is in arrears or you have other outstanding debuts
- You’re in temporary accommodation
- You’re a perpetrator in an outstanding case of anti-social behaviour (ASB)
- You've undertaken historic works without our consent
- Any existing or retrospective application is pending
- Not enough information has been provided
If you carry out work without obtaining our consent, we may require you to revert your home back to its original condition or we may do it for you and recharge you.
This could affect your tenancy rights and lead to additional consequences.
At the end of your tenancy, you may be asked to revert your home back to its original condition at your own cost.
Any works which are done without consent may be subject to charges for retrospective applications and site visit(s) may be required to review the work and advise on the necessary actions.
It is important that you feel safe, secure and independent in your home. To help ensure this, we can make changes, known as adaptations, so life is easier for you.
These range from minor adaptations, such as handrails, to major adaptations, such as creating wheelchair-accessible spaces.
Requests for landlord’s consent is free of charge for works applied for via Eastlight’s Aids and Adaptations Team if supported by an Occupational Therapist (OT) Assessment and raised via the Local Authority.
Eastlight will only consider requests for major adaptations that are supported by an Occupational Therapist Assessment (OTA). Requests for major adaptations will be referred for funding through grant processes, such as the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) managed by the Local Authority.
Will I be charged a fee?
Landlord's consent is a discretionary service we offer to you.
We can offer initial advice or commentary at no cost to you. However, a fee will apply if you choose to move forward with your request. This is because we must ensure there are no legal or technical limitations to the proposed alterations.
We will be clear and transparent with you about any applicable fees in advance, giving you the opportunity to decide if you want to continue.
Please be aware that approval is not guaranteed, so do fully consider the potential financial, practical and scale-related aspects of the work before submitting your application as your obligations and commitment may grow beyond initial expectations.
The table below lists our current fee structure. If the alteration(s) you want to make require significant involvement and administration from Eastlight employee(s), consultant(s) or contractor(s) you will be charged as follows:
| Admin fee | Attendance and processing fee | More info | |
| Initial evaluation | Free | N/A | No charge for requesting permission. We will consider the request and advise if charges apply |
| Standard review | £60 + £30 per additional item* | N/A | Request(s) which require limited technical requirement and consideration. |
| Moderate review and site visit | £60** | £300 | Requests with multiple items and/or requiring works which need greater technical involvement, further engagement and consideration. |
| Enhanced review with site visit(s) and additional input | Price on application | Price on application | Requests with multiple items and/or requiring considerable and enhances technical involvement, greater levels of engagement and monitoring of works |
Prices include VAT.
*Multiple requests in an application will incur an additional £30 per item, eg. fence and patio will be £60 + £30.
**Not applicable if paid as part of the standard review.
Please note: No fees are applicable for works applied for via Eastlight's Aids and Adaptations Team if supported with an OT assessment and raised through the Local Authority.
As part of the initial evaluation, we will review your enquiry and advise you if any additional fees apply. If you choose to proceed with the application, you must notify us, after which an invoice will be issued for the applicable fee.
We require payment within 30 days to progress the application otherwise your application will not proceed further.
If your application is approved, the permission will expire after 12 months from the date of approval. If the work is not completed within this period, you will need to reapply, and an additional fees may apply.
-
Making an application
We require full details of the proposed work including as much information as possible such as details of who will undertake the work, a copy of the contractor’s public liability insurance (minimum £2m), proof of contractor’s relevant qualifications, specifications, materials, layouts, drawings and annotated photos.
If you do not provide us with these details, your request will be declined. We aim to provide an initial response within 28 days.
However, subsequent correspondence may take longer, and due to the unique nature of each application, we are unable to guarantee specific timeframes beyond this point.
