Home alterations

Most decorating tasks such as painting walls or woodwork, hanging wallpaper or installing shelves and hooks, are encouraged by Cottsway (if done correctly) because they can make your property feel more like home.

But if you want to make any other alterations or additions, either inside or outside your home, it’s important that you gain permission from us before you start any work and we’ve included a useful guide below.

For more information, see our: Home alterations policy

Ask for permission

You should know that we:

Check your property boundaries.
Check our records to see whether your home has any Asbestos containing materials
Will ask for work to be carried out to certain conditions and standards.
Will refuse your request if we believe the work would reduce the value of your home or if your account is in arrears.
Reserve the right to remove or put right any defective improvement work that has been done without our permission, or does not meet the necessary conditions or standards, and we will charge for this work.

Examples of what you can and cannot do without our permission

This list does not cover every situation. If you are unsure whether you need permission, please contact us before starting any work.

You must ask our permission before:

Changing the units or layout in your bathroom, kitchen or cloakroom. This is often not allowed as we want to keep installations standard.
Changing the vinyl flooring in the kitchen, bathroom or cloakroom.
Painting wall tiles or kitchen units.
Installing a dishwasher.

You are not generally permitted to:

Install a range cooker as our standard kitchens are not designed to accommodate these.

You are not generally permitted to:

Add an extension
Make major structural changes or significant alterations to the layout of rooms.

You must ask our permission before:

Carrying out any electrical work, including changing electrical fittings, switches installing new sockets or spotlights. (All electrical work must be carried out by a suitably qualified professional with electrical certificates provided as evidence of safe standards of work).

You must ask our permission before installing an EV charger.

Approval is more likely if you have a driveway or parking space next to your home.
If your parking space is not next to your home, you may need to install a cable channel to keep paths and pavements safe.

Requests are unlikely to be approved if you do not have a designated parking space.

You do not need permission to:

Fit carpets in the hall, lounge, dining rooms and bedrooms.

You must ask our permission before:

Replacing vinyl flooring in the kitchen, bathroom or cloakroom.
Installing laminate, wood or other hard flooring. Please note that if you live in a flat above ground floor level, you will not be allowed to install laminate flooring.

You must ask our permission before:

Installing air conditioning.

You do not need permission to:

Use a portable electric heater, but please ensure you follow safety guidelines

Due to safety considerations, you are not generally permitted to:

Alter your heating system
Have a log burner or open fire.

You must ask our permission before:

Installing a garden tap - and it must meet relevant standards and regulations.
Installing a shed, garden office, greenhouse, conservatory, lean-to or other outbuilding or other permanent garden structure and these must be limited in size.
Installing or altering areas of hard standing eg, patios, decking and gravel areas. These must be limited in size and location.
Installing a hot tub, sauna etc as the base and electricity supply will need our approval. These must be kept locked and safe when not in use.
Installing a retaining wall.
Installing any garden electrics.
Removing a tree or hedge that is part of the boundary of your property. (You are responsible for maintaining these and ensuring they are a safe and suitable size).

You are not generally permitted to:

Have a pond for safety reasons
Paint or remove boundary fences/walls
Attach structures to the main home as this can damage existing walls and make maintenance of your home difficult.

You are not generally permitted to:

Convert or board the loft space.

Please remember, personal belongings should not be stored in the loft as this reduces the effectiveness of the insulation and limits access for maintenance.

You do not need permission to:

Carry out simple painting and decorating to walls, skirting boards and internal doors using suitable paints and finishes.
Hang wallpaper inside your home.

You must ask our permission before:

Painting any heaters or other service installations in your home.
Painting external doors - this is not normally allowed if you have a newer door.

You are not generally permitted to:

Paint fences, external walls or render or brick.
Paint fixtures and fittings such as tiles, kitchen units or window frames.

You must ask our permission before:

Installing CCTV or doorbell cameras.
Installing TV aerial and satellite dish fixtures - and these must meet the relevant standards / regulations.
Installing fibre broadband.

You must ask our permission before:

Replacing any interior doors - please note, glazed doors should be avoided.
Replacing any windows or external doors - this will only be allowed in limited circumstances.
Painting external doors - this is not normally allowed if you have a newer door.

You are not generally permitted to:

Paint the window frames.
Install a cat flap.

You must ask our permission before:

Changing the units or layout in your bathroom, kitchen or cloakroom. This is often not allowed as we want to keep installations standard.
Changing the vinyl flooring in the kitchen, bathroom or cloakroom.
Painting wall tiles or kitchen units.
Installing a dishwasher.

You are not generally permitted to:

Install a range cooker as our standard kitchens are not designed to accommodate these.

You are not generally permitted to:

Add an extension
Make major structural changes or significant alterations to the layout of rooms.

You must ask our permission before:

Carrying out any electrical work, including changing electrical fittings, switches installing new sockets or spotlights. (All electrical work must be carried out by a suitably qualified professional with electrical certificates provided as evidence of safe standards of work).

You must ask our permission before installing an EV charger.

Approval is more likely if you have a driveway or parking space next to your home.
If your parking space is not next to your home, you may need to install a cable channel to keep paths and pavements safe.

Requests are unlikely to be approved if you do not have a designated parking space.

You do not need permission to:

Fit carpets in the hall, lounge, dining rooms and bedrooms.

You must ask our permission before:

Replacing vinyl flooring in the kitchen, bathroom or cloakroom.
Installing laminate, wood or other hard flooring. Please note that if you live in a flat above ground floor level, you will not be allowed to install laminate flooring.

You must ask our permission before:

Installing air conditioning.

You do not need permission to:

Use a portable electric heater, but please ensure you follow safety guidelines

Due to safety considerations, you are not generally permitted to:

Alter your heating system
Have a log burner or open fire.

You must ask our permission before:

Installing a garden tap - and it must meet relevant standards and regulations.
Installing a shed, garden office, greenhouse, conservatory, lean-to or other outbuilding or other permanent garden structure and these must be limited in size.
Installing or altering areas of hard standing eg, patios, decking and gravel areas. These must be limited in size and location.
Installing a hot tub, sauna etc as the base and electricity supply will need our approval. These must be kept locked and safe when not in use.
Installing a retaining wall.
Installing any garden electrics.
Removing a tree or hedge that is part of the boundary of your property. (You are responsible for maintaining these and ensuring they are a safe and suitable size).

You are not generally permitted to:

Have a pond for safety reasons
Paint or remove boundary fences/walls
Attach structures to the main home as this can damage existing walls and make maintenance of your home difficult.

You are not generally permitted to:

Convert or board the loft space.

Please remember, personal belongings should not be stored in the loft as this reduces the effectiveness of the insulation and limits access for maintenance.

You do not need permission to:

Carry out simple painting and decorating to walls, skirting boards and internal doors using suitable paints and finishes.
Hang wallpaper inside your home.

You must ask our permission before:

Painting any heaters or other service installations in your home.
Painting external doors - this is not normally allowed if you have a newer door.

You are not generally permitted to:

Paint fences, external walls or render or brick.
Paint fixtures and fittings such as tiles, kitchen units or window frames.

You must ask our permission before:

Installing CCTV or doorbell cameras.
Installing TV aerial and satellite dish fixtures - and these must meet the relevant standards / regulations.
Installing fibre broadband.

You must ask our permission before:

Replacing any interior doors - please note, glazed doors should be avoided.
Replacing any windows or external doors - this will only be allowed in limited circumstances.
Painting external doors - this is not normally allowed if you have a newer door.

You are not generally permitted to:

Paint the window frames.
Install a cat flap.

If work is carried out without permission

If you make changes to your home without getting permission first, you can ask for permission afterwards. However, we may not approve the changes.

If we do not approve them, you must put the property back to its original condition at your own expense.

If you leave the property and unapproved changes remain, we may remove them and return the property to the required Empty Homes Standard. We may charge you for any costs involved.

Timescales

We will respond to permission requests within the following timescales:

We will acknowledge your request within five working days.
If we need more information, we will contact you. The timescales below will start once we have received all the information we need.
We will give you a decision within 20 working days. Some requests may take longer if they are more complex. If this happens, we will let you know and tell you when you can expect a decision.

If we refuse your request

If we refuse your request, you can appeal the decision.

You must tell us that you want to appeal within five working days of receiving our decision.
We will review your appeal and respond within 20 working days of receiving it.

Other useful information

Aids and adaptations

New-build homes

Landlord's permission

Repairs and maintenance