My council home has a garden - what do I need to know?
If your council home has a garden you will have certain responsibilities towards maintaining it, and certain rights about what you can do with it.
Maintaining your garden
If you have a garden, you're required to keep it well maintained. By this we mean that:
- the grass must be cut
- trees and hedges trimmed
- the entire area kept free of rubbish at all times
- erect any structure in garden such as a shed, pigeon loft, aviary or conservatory
- carry out any hard landscaping
Parking in your garden
You can park in the garden of your home, provided you have:
- a dropped kerb to enable you to access across the pavement
- an approved hard standing in the garden
If you wish to install a dropped kerb, we'll pay 50% of the costs involved in the installation. The remaining 50% of the cost of the dropped kerb and the installation of the hard standing must be paid by you.
If you decide to install a dropped kerb and hard standing, you must not park in your garden until both the dropped kerb and hard standing have been completed.
Only secure tenants can apply for the installation of a dropped kerb. Permission will not be given if you owe us any outstanding money.
Follow this link to apply for a dropped kerb.
Boundaries and fences
The maintenance of boundaries and fences for your council home are mainly your responsibility. Fences are supplied in the following circumstances where the boundary is our responsibility:
- is adjacent, or opens to, a public path
- is for communal areas
- is adjacent to public alleyways
- opens onto a public highway
If you have a pet, it's your responsibility to provide a higher or more secure fence if you need this for your pet’s security.
Permission must be obtained in writing before installing your own fence. We will not usually give permission if you're an introductory tenant.