Money back for your alterations

Firstly, we are sorry that you want to leave us - but if you do, we expect you to leave your home in good condition. If there are repairs for which you are responsible, you will need to arrange for them to be done and pay the cost yourself.

Who can claim compensation?

Most tenants can claim compensation if they have had improvements done. If a tenancy ends because the tenant dies or there are other special circumstances, compensation may still be claimed.

You won't be able to claim compensation if your tenancy ends because you have breached (broken) the terms and conditions of your tenancy or if you buy your home through the Right to Buy, Right to Acquire or Rent to Mortgage schemes.

Which work can I claim compensation for?

You must have had our written permission before starting the work and have followed some simple requirements to obtain quotes and any necessary Local Authority permissions. The improvement must be on our qualifying list:

• Bath or shower
• Wash-hand basin
• Toilet
• Kitchen sink
• Storage cupboards in bathroom or kitchen
• Work surfaces for food preparation
• Space or water heating
• Thermostatic radiator valves
• Insulation of pipes, water tank or cylinder
• Loft insulation
• Cavity wall insulation
• Draught proofing of external doors or windows
• Double glazing or other external window replacement or secondary glazing
• Rewiring or the provision of power and lighting or other electrical fittings (including smoke detectors)
• Any object which improves the security of the dwelling, but excluding burglar alarms

You must claim compensation 28 days before -- or 14 days after -- your tenancy comes to an end.

How do you work out how much compensation to pay me?

The amount of compensation you get will be less than the cost of work, because all improvements lose value over time. Also, if you owe us any money when you leave the property, we will reduce any compensation we owe to you by that amount.

Each type of improvement has a 'notional life' - for example 10 years for a new kitchen. You must claim for compensation within the 'notional life' of the improvement you've had done, at the end of your tenancy. The improvements covered and the notional life of each is as follows:

• 20 years - loft insulation, cavity-wall insulation, double glazing, other external window replacement or secondary glazing
• 15 years - rewiring, or providing power and lighting or other electrical fittings (including smoke detectors)
• 12 years - bath or shower*, wash-hand basin*, toilet, space or water heating
• 10 years - kitchen sink*, storage cupboards in bathroom or kitchen*, work surfaces for food preparation*, insulation of pipes, water tank or cylinder, any object that improves the security of your home, excluding a burglar alarm
• 8 years - draught-proofing of external doors or windows
• 7 years - thermostatic radiator valves

*these qualify only if the old item needed replacing or your home lacked one.

The formula we use to work out your compensation is:

The cost of the improvement, multiplied by the number of years' notional life left, divided by the notional life.

For example: a new kitchen costing £5,000 fitted 6 years ago

The notional life for a kitchen is 10 years, so there would be 4 years' notional life left. We would work out the compensation you should be paid like this:

£5,000 (cost) X 4 (notional life left) ÷ 10 (notional life for a kitchen) = £2,000

There is an upper limit of £3,000 compensation for any one improvement. We won't pay any compensation if the amount we owe you is less that £50.

So how do I claim compensation?

You must complete and return a compensation claim form within 14 days of your tenancy end date. Call us on 0330 1234 034 to request one. We will then decide if the improvement qualifies for compensation.

If it does, we will calculate how much we owe you and pay the compensation by cheque within 14 days. We will take off any money you owe us.

For any further information please contact us.