Communal areas
As your landlord, we have responsibility for your home including making sure the structure of the buildings and communal areas meet fire and safety requirements. More importantly, we need to work together to ensure everyone that uses these areas (you, your neighbours and visitors) are kept safe.
Communal areas need to be kept clear
We are responsible for communal areas and we have a duty to make sure you can escape in an emergency. If you could not get out because you tripped over a mat or were hit by exploding glass from a picture, we would be responsible, even if it was you who put it there.
The legislation that focuses on fire risks has placed extra responsibilities on us to make sure that if there was a fire in your block, there’d be nothing in the communal areas which could make it difficult to get out, or could give off smoke that would affect you, or obstruct the Fire Service in their rescue duties.
By law, we have duties to keep you safe and minimise any risks.
Our policy is that you may not use communal areas for storage or place unwanted goods or decorative items outside your front door.
Some of the most common items we can’t allow are:
- Pushchairs
- Bikes
- Shopping trolleys
- Door mats
- Plants
- Pictures
- Recycling boxes
- Boots and Shoes
You are putting yourself and other residents at risk of harm if you leave items in communal areas, particularly in the event of a fire.
If communal areas aren’t kept clear
The best thing we can do is to prevent problems happening in the first place, rather than reacting when things go wrong. Our approach is to manage communal areas in a way that minimises risk and meets legal requirements.
Therefore we will carry out inspections of communal areas regularly to make sure there are no obstructions, so please keep belongings in your own home.
If any items are left in the communal area, we will try and find out who the owner is and give them a chance to remove the items. However if they are not removed, we will dispose of items and recharge. Action may also be taken in relation to the relevant persons tenancy or lease.
