Help and Support for Private Tenants

 

If you contact us for advice regarding repairs, we will assist on a needs basis. This is dependant upon the seriousness of the disrepair and the problems you may have in getting your landlord to do repairs. We may provide to you with information so that you can contact your landlord about the repairs or we may try and get repairs carried out by dealing with your landlord informally, either by letter or telephone.

 

If we visit your home we are obliged by law to inspect the entire house to make sure that it is free from serious hazards and this may require more works at the house than you currently want. This is why we try to deal with the matter without a visit if we can.

 

Where necessary, after a visit, we may still deal with matters informally at the beginning but if the matters we are concerned about are not resolved we may need serve legal notices requiring the work to be done.

 

The levels of our intervention and subsequent actions are detailed in the Private Sector Housing Services Intervention and Enforcement Policy. http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/in-your-area/housing-services/private-sector-housing/private-sector-housing-services-policy

 

This policy commits all officers to good enforcement practices and procedures. It also sets out the decision making process that officers will follow regarding intervention, from an initial request or receipt of information to the conclusion of a matter.

 

This ensures that intervention and enforcement activity (formal and informal) is:

 

 

 

 

These are typically bedsits, self contained flats and shared houses. There are legal requirements regarding the standards of management, fire protection and amenities provided in this type of accommodation, and we may serve legal notices requiring the work to be done.