5. Living in flats and maisonettes
When you are sharing facilities and living very close to your neighbours in a block of flats, this can cause difficulties, especially if people are inconsiderate or their behaviour is unreasonable. We ask that everyone makes a special effort to be a good neighbour so you do not upset or cause a nuisance to others living in your block or on your estate. Most of the problems we have to deal with on estates are complaints about noise. Noise travels easily between flats so please limit the activities that create a noise nuisance, especially in the evening and at night.
Where can I park my car?
Check your lease, it will show if you have allocated parking or can use the parking areas.
Shared responsibility
Everyone who lives in a block can use the shared hallways, gardens and drying areas. You should keep these areas tidy and free from rubbish. You can help us by doing the following:
- Getting to know your neighbours and local community, this can help make it easier to talk to each other if any problems arise.
- Regularly cleaning the landing and stairs near your property.
- Making sure the stairs and landings are not blocked with things like toys, bicycles, rubbish sacks, prams or mobility scooters. They can be dangerous if people trip over them or have to get out of the building quickly if there is a fire.
- If your block has a door-entry system, making sure the door closes behind you. Don’t wedge doors open and don’t let anyone in who you don’t know.
- Always putting your rubbish in the bins. Don’t leave rubbish outside your flat or maisonette.
- Making sure your children don’t play in the shared hallways, stairs, balconies or doorways.
- Telling your leasehold officer if you see someone dumping rubbish - noting information about them such as where they live, if they live on the estate and their vehicle registration if they use a vehicle to dump the rubbish.
Safety considerations
For your safety and others, do not store flammable substances such as petrol, bottled gas or paraffin heaters in your home, on your balcony or in shared areas. Do not throw, or allow others to throw, anything from your flat or maisonette. If there is a fire, call the fire brigade immediately. If it is safe for you to do so without putting yourself or your family in danger, tell everyone else in the block. Get out of the building as quickly as possible, closing doors behind you. Leave using the stairs, not the lifts.
Your environment
Rubbish should be placed in bins or areas provided. If there are no ...communal bulk bins ... leaseholders are responsible for purchasing their own bin and arranging for individual recycling bins directly from the cleansing department at ADC . You may also request a chargeable garden waste bin. If there are no bins please use black sacks and put them out on the day of collection. If you have other items the refuse collectors will not remove, you should arrange for them to be taken to the amenity tip.
Graffiti
If you see any graffiti or vandalism you can report this to the police as this is criminal damage, or to Arun District Council.
Antisocial behaviour
Antisocial behaviour can range from incidents such as noise nuisance and dumping rubbish to serious offences of harassment and drug dealing. All types of antisocial behaviour result in distress and misery for individuals and can damage local communities. Where possible, we will take action against people if their behaviour is unacceptable and causes problems for others. You have a responsibility to make sure you act in a considerate and reasonable way towards others. This includes the behaviour of your household members and your visitors.
If you experience antisocial behaviour, we may ask you to keep details of the incidents. We cannot take action without evidence. Contact the neighbourhood services team who cover your area to discuss the problem and what action can be taken to put things right.
If you have a disagreement with your neighbour, try talking to the people responsible to ask them to stop their behaviour before you contact us. For serious incidents, including threatening behaviour or violence, you should contact the police immediately and then report it to us.
What Arun District Council will do about antisocial behaviour
- Assess any report of antisocial behaviour, harassment or domestic violence promptly;
- Investigate the complaint and help you to sort out the problem without taking enforcement action;
- Offer mediation for disagreements between neighbours;
- Take enforcement action against people who are responsible for the problem;
- Work with agencies such as the police and others to find solutions;
- Look at making environmental or physical changes to an area to get rid of the problem work with residents to make clear what is acceptable behaviour.
Sub-letting
If you are considering sub-letting your home, you should first obtain our permission and that of your lender in writing and seek independent legal advice.
If you sub-let the property, you are legally responsible for the actions of your tenants. If your tenants breach any condition of the lease such as cause a nuisance or cause harassment, we will take action against you as the leaseholder.
You will be expected to take prompt action to address the issue. In light of this, you should ensure that the conditions of any tenancy agreement you or your agent grant to your tenants makes clear provision for these matters. You must tell us the name of your tenant and your contact details.
The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015
From 1 October 2015, private landlords must have:
- at least one smoke alarm installed on every storey of their rental property which is used as living accommodation; and
- a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation where solid fuel is used.
At the beginning of each new tenancy, a landlord must ensure that the alarms are in working order.
The local authority has the right to remedial notices to ensure compliance. Failure to comply with this remedial notice could lead to a penalty charge of up to £5,000. DCLG has published guidance for landlords with sections covering responsibilities, types of alarms, exemptions and enforcement.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/1693/regulation/5/made
Annual gas safety checks
A 12 monthly gas safety check must be carried out on every gas appliance/ flue. A gas safety check will make sure gas fittings and appliances are safe to use. All installation, maintenance and safety checks need to be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Setting the standards
Our aim is for you to enjoy living in your new home and that is why we are committed to providing you with an excellent service at all times. We have set standards and targets for areas of our service, for example, how quickly we will respond to your repairs requests, what level of estate services to expect, targets for responding to service charge enquiries and targets for dealing with customer feedback.