Access policy

1. Introduction

1.1.     This policy outlines our approach to obtaining access to your home (including gardens and other outside areas). It covers:

• When we may need to access your home
• Responsibilities
• What we’ll do if you do not allow us access

1.2.    This policy does not relate to obtaining access to properties as part of the repossession process, nor where we consider a property has been abandoned. 

1.3    When we use ‘you’ and ‘your’, we mean tenants (excluding shared owners and leaseholders). The terms ‘we’, ‘our’, and ‘us’ mean Norwich City Council.  

2. Relevant legislation

• Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
• Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998
• Gas Safety (Management) Regulations 1996
• Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985
• Defective Premises Act 1972
• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
• Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 and the Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994
• Section 16 of the Housing Act 1988 and section 11(6) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985
• Localism Act 2011
• Housing Act 1996
• Prevention Social Housing Fraud Act 2013
• Equality Act 2010
• Tenancy Agreement 2010 edition
• Environmental Protection Act 1990
• Antisocial Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014
• Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 

3. Policy details

3.1     We may need access to your home for lots of reasons, including:

• To inspect the condition of the property
• To carry out servicing or a repair
• To investigate a possible breach of tenancy
• To carry out an emergency repair
• We suspect there is any serious health and safety risk to you or other households in your block.

3.2     If we need to access your home, we will make all reasonable attempts to contact you first, including contacting your family and other people you know who may or may not live with you. However, there may be urgent situations where we’re unable to let you know in advance. 

3.3     Your tenancy agreement will detail your rights and responsibilities in relation to providing access to your home.

3.4.     You must allow us, or our contractors, into your home when we request it or if you request a repair or inspection. We’ll always show identification when visiting you at home.

3.5     We will contact you in the best way for you. It’s important you make us aware if you have a support or communication need, so we can help, this includes you having someone with you for the visit. And to let us know about someone else who can give us access if you’re not able to when we need to enter. 

What we will do if you don’t allow us access:

3.6     Most tenants allow access to their homes when required. If you do not allow us access, you may be in breach of your tenancy, and we may take legal action.

3.7     If you refuse access after reasonable requests, we: 

• May serve a Notice of Seeking Possession letting you know of our intention to seek possession of your home.
• May ask the court for an injunction to allow us access into your home and we will request our legal costs are covered by you. 

3.8     If you have repeatedly refused access, we may also ask the court to grant an injunction to allow us ongoing access to your home for a specific reason e.g., electrical testing.

3.9     If your annual gas safety check is overdue, we will apply for a warrant via the court to obtain entry to your home if you do not allow access.

3.10  If we require access to carry out an electrical safety test, remedial works or a rewire, and you do not allow access, we will seek an injunction to gain entry to your home to ensure the safety works are complete. 

3.11   If you continue to refuse reasonable access, we will apply to the court for possession of your home.

3.12   You may become liable for any costs incurred by the council for entry to the property e.g., lock changes, contractor or professional fees, and legal fees.

When we will enter the home without your permission

3.13  We will only enter your home without your permission in exceptional circumstances, where: 

• We have identified a serious health and safety risk to the occupants and others.
• There is likely to be damage to the building if immediate action is not taken.
• There is an immediate concern for the wellbeing of someone in the property. 

3.14  Examples of exceptional circumstances can include, but are not limited to: 

• A water leak and you are not contactable and there isn’t anybody else who can allow us access.
• An expired gas certificate and you are not contactable and there isn’t anybody else who can allow us access.
• An immediate welfare concern for the tenant(s) and/or occupants
• Compliance related concerns for immediate electrical or fire safety.

3.15  In an emergency, for example a suspected gas leak or structural concerns, we will not enter. We will immediately contact the relevant emergency services and utility company.

3.16  If there’s any possibility an occupant could be ill or has died, we will contact the police and ask them to enter the property with us. 

3.17  We will only enter without your permission as a last resort.

3.18  If an emergency arises out of hours, the Out of Hours (OOH) duty manager (for housing management) will decide whether we should enter the property. Our out of hours service is a telephone response service. OOH employees on duty should only attend a property in exceptional circumstances, and never on their own.

4. Review

4.1  We will review this policy to address legislative, regulatory, best practice or operational issues, otherwise every 3 years.

Published: 20 September 2024
Next review date: 20 September 2027