Public-housing tenants can ask their housing company for repairs, information, a reasoned decision and, where the conditions are met, assessment for a different public-housing flat. Keep the request and receipt in writing. A repair call, an approved exchange and an available replacement home are different stages.
This guide concerns public housing managed through a housing company and the Housing Ministry. It is not the same as private renting, protected/key-money tenancy, sheltered accommodation or supported housing. For initial eligibility, start with the public-housing application guide. This is general information, not legal or tax advice; confirm with a licensed professional.
If you need representation or want to challenge an administrative response, use the housing legal-aid and complaints route guide. A repair complaint and a legal appeal have different functions and deadlines.
Know the company and keep your tenant file
Amidar is one housing company; it is not the only operator. Use the company and branch responsible for your home. Keep the lease, eligibility and rent decisions, statements, payments, repair requests and supporting documents together. Ask for confirmation when submitting a request or documents and preserve the date and reference number.
If a bill or rent change is unclear, ask for the calculation, the period charged and the underlying household information. Request a written explanation of a decision and the applicable objection or appeal route. A charge you do not understand should not be left to accumulate without a recorded inquiry, but an inquiry does not itself cancel the debt or suspend a deadline.
Tenants’ information rights include written information and access to relevant records, with exceptions for internal material. Ask for the actual records and decision rather than assuming every internal opinion must be disclosed. The information-rights summary is useful background; the current law and the individual decision control exact notice and challenge requirements.
Before signing for a new public-housing home
The Housing Ministry’s tenant-rights guide says the incoming tenant must have an opportunity to inspect the flat before signing. Record missing or unusable listed items, photograph defects where appropriate and keep the inspection list with the company.
The new-tenant list covers specified doors, windows, plumbing, heating, sanitary fittings, kitchen and electrical items, finishing, sealing and stability defects. Some items depend on what already existed, the household or locality. It is not a promise of every possible upgrade or a choice of finishes.
For the covered new-tenant work, the ministry guide gives 60 days from the earlier of signing the lease or the tenancy starting. Ask the company to identify the listed defect, planned work and timing in writing. Do not substitute a sitting-tenant repair list for the incoming inspection list; they are not identical.
For an existing tenant: response, start and completion differ
The ministry’s existing-tenant chapter states a response period of 30 days from receipt of the request. It says covered repairs must start urgently and no later than 60 days after the need is reported, then be finished within a reasonable time. That is not a universal promise that every repair will be completed by the outer start deadline. Report an immediate safety risk clearly and seek the appropriate urgent response.
Covered categories include specified water and sewage pipes, the existing water heater, electrical board and wiring, entry door, certain external-window problems, damaged floor or bathroom tiles, sealing defects and unstable railings or other listed elements. Important distinctions remain: sewage blockages are excluded from the listed pipe item; the external-window item does not include every pane or sealing problem; replacing an electric heater with solar is a separate question.
The guide excludes damage caused deliberately, through unreasonable use or through changes or work done without the company’s prior written approval. Obtain approval before altering the home. If responsibility is disputed, ask for the inspection findings and the reason for the decision, rather than treating a refusal as the end of the matter or assuming every defect is automatically yours to fund.
What to include in a repair request
- The address, tenant details, location of the defect and when it was first reported.
- A description of what cannot reasonably be used and any safety or access effect.
- Photos or professional evidence where relevant, plus earlier call numbers and responses.
- A request identifying the proposed work, whether it is covered, its cost basis, your contribution and the expected start.
- A retained receipt and a dated record of visits, missed appointments, work done and outstanding defects.
Check the contribution before paying for work
The ministry guide describes the following ordinary contribution categories. Ask the company which category applies and for the prescribed maximum cost per item from which the share is calculated. A percentage of an unexplained contractor quote is not enough to understand the charge.
| Category in the ministry guide | Contribution described | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Tenants living on qualifying National Insurance subsistence benefits | 5% | Actual recognised category and prescribed item cost base |
| Free-rent track, ordinary covered repairs | 25% | Do not confuse the track’s name with no rent or no contribution |
| Other qualifying tenants, ordinary covered repairs | 10% | Item coverage and applicable cost cap |
Solar installation is treated separately: the guide describes the qualifying subsistence category’s lower share and 10% for others. It also describes budget priorities and exceptional cases. An obligation to repair an existing heater does not establish an immediate entitlement to convert it to solar. Confirm the current programme, priority and written charge.
For items outside the ordinary list, ask whether a repairs exceptions committee route is available. Its conditions concern the item, when it was previously treated and the household’s circumstances. Do not assume a defect outside the list will automatically be approved or apply a historical eligibility table without checking the current route.
Accessibility: adaptation or a different flat?
For a mobility problem, ask the housing company about adaptation and the required professional recommendation. The ministry guide describes coordination with the Health Ministry for the relevant adaptation pathway. Obtain approval and funding arrangements before undertaking structural work.
A different flat may be relevant where the current home cannot suitably be made accessible, a medical condition requires a lower floor, a separate room is medically necessary under the applicable crowding test, or suitable medical treatment is unavailable locally. The official replacement service lists the conditions and required evidence.
For an inaccessible home occupied by a wheelchair user, that service refers to the opinion of the housing-company engineer or an occupational therapist. Do not turn that into a universal requirement for both. Other medical documentation and assessment requirements can still apply.
Replacing a flat because of crowding
The ministry uses defined household, room and sometimes area calculations. It is not simply a subjective impression that the flat feels small. The ordinary residence condition is 5 years. The reviewed procedure provides an exception where 3 or more children were born after occupancy and the family meets the crowding rules. Other conditions remain.
Check the locality’s priority classification, who counts in the household, the registered room and area data, any special large-family or border-locality rule and any medically necessary separate room. Ask the company to show the calculation and the current procedure used.
A borderline calculation needs written clarification. The ministry service page describes “2.5 or more” persons per room outside priority areas, while the reviewed September 2024 edition of procedure 08/05 says “more than 2.5” for area C. This guide does not decide that boundary in a family’s favour or against it. Ask which current rule applies, especially if the result is exactly at the stated threshold. A historical court case about a different family is not a substitute for the current assessment.
How to request a replacement
The official replacement service applies a condition that the tenants do not have, and did not have, rights in another flat during their current tenancy. Have the company assess that condition rather than assuming crowding or illness alone is sufficient. Apply through the housing company’s local branch with an explanation of the reasons, identification and appendix, and supporting social or medical records as applicable. The official service is free. Medical routes require the specified current medical and functional evidence; ask the branch for the list fitting your route and keep a submission receipt.
The ministry assesses the request. Approval does not mean a suitable replacement is immediately vacant. Obtain the written decision, the characteristics of the approved home, the waiting arrangement and any challenge route before changing your housing plans.
Private rent while waiting is conditional
The official service describes rent participation for approved exchange applicants while awaiting a replacement, subject to conditions. It is paid after the current flat is returned and is not provided in localities with vacant public flats under the described route. The page says continuity, queue position and eligibility characteristics are preserved in this arrangement.
Do not return the keys or sign a private lease on the strength of a general paragraph alone. Obtain your written approval, amount, start date, conditions and handover arrangement. Ordinary Housing Ministry rent assistance is a separate eligibility discussion.
Death, separation and buying the home are separate decisions
A relative does not automatically inherit a public-housing tenancy like owned real estate. Continuing-tenant rules depend on the applicable dates, residence and eligibility requirements. Submit the relevant application and obtain the actual decision. Separation also has specific household, custody and accessibility considerations and committee routes; the tenancy should not be reassigned by a private assumption about who “owns” it.
The ministry’s purchase service states that the purchase-right law expired on 14 February 2023 and that a tenant who had not applied before expiry cannot submit a discounted purchase application until further notice. Remaining historic discount tables on that page do not reopen eligibility. An older application or another claimed exception needs its own decision.
If the response does not resolve the problem
Ask for the written reasons, calculation or inspection report and the correct objection or appeal route. Keep each notice and deadline. Where housing is at risk or the dispute needs representation, the Legal Aid service can assess eligibility; representation is not guaranteed by making an inquiry.
For repairs, keep the distinction between a response, a visit, the start of work and reasonable completion. For a rent or debt dispute, keep payments and statements separate from your request for explanation. For a replacement, keep eligibility approval separate from an offer and actual handover.
Sources and scope
The linked Housing Ministry tenant guide, replacement service and purchase service are the main public references. The reviewed procedure 08/05, edition effective September 2024 supplies the crowding residence exception and demonstrates why exact current wording matters. Check for later applicable instructions and your own written decision. Historical 2006 and 2008 case summaries, a 2011 rent procedure and older general handbooks are not used here to certify present-day rent formulas, new purchase eligibility, universal contract outcomes or a guaranteed replacement.
