Renovations
Everyone likes to make their house a home. If you live in a Homes Tasmania home, you need to ask us before you make changes. This includes:
- building or renovating
- painting or wallpapering
- changing the floor coverings
- putting up a shed, pergola or carport.
What are the rules?
Your lease agreement says that you cannot make changes to the home. You cannot do building or renovation work. You also cannot replace or remove any of the fittings, such as lights or appliances.
What if you want to make changes?
Sometimes we say that it is OK to make changes. If you want to make changes, you must ask us first. If you don not ask us first, we will ask you to put the home back to the way it was. This could be costly, so it is better to ask us before you go ahead and renovate.
Before you make changes, there is a form you need to fill in. You can call us and ask for it. Once we receive the completed form, we will decide whether or not you can renovate. We may need to visit the home to help us decide.
We will let you know in writing if you can make the changes. If we say the changes are OK, all the work must be done in a professional way. It must be safe. Once the work has been done, we will visit the home to check that the work has been done well and is safe.
If the work is not professional, you may be charged with the cost of either putting the home back the way it was before or fixing up the work.
What happens if you don't ask?
If you make changes to your home without our permission, you are breaking your lease. This means that you will have to pay the cost of returning the home to its original state.
What happens if you move out?
Whether we gave you written permission or not to make the changes, you will need to return your house to the way it was when you moved in. If you do not do this, we will ask you to pay for returning the home to its original state. It will be more expensive than if you do it yourself.
What if you need maintenance or repairs?
If you have made changes to your home, Homes Tasmania is not responsible for maintaining or repairing these parts of the home in the future. You need to make sure that your home is kept in good condition. Homes Tasmania is responsible for:
- providing a home that is clean and in good condition when you move in
- checking to make sure that the house is safe and well maintained
- fixing things quickly if there is an emergency or if you need urgent repairs
- fixing things within 28 days if the repairs are not urgent.
We do a lot of regular maintenance of our properties. This includes painting and repairs. If you need maintenance at your home, you will find our contact information below.
We will also help you in an emergency. Examples of an emergency include part of your roof blowing off or if there is a fire or a flood.
Urgent maintenance is when something stops working, such as your hot water, electricity, sewerage, stove or cooktop, or your heating.
Andre's story
Andre lives with his Mum and Dad in their Homes Tasmania home. He has recently started working as an apprentice carpenter. As a favour to his Mum and Dad, and to gain some experience, he offered to build a shed and fence at the back of the house. His parents were really excited about this and they let him go ahead.
Unfortunately, they forgot to tell Homes Tasmania.
Because Andre was just learning his trade, the work was not very good. Part of the fence collapsed.
When their tenancy officer inspected the home, the family found out that they had to pay $500 for a professional builder to remove the shed and fence.
For more information contact Homes Tasmania
Phone: 1300 665 663