Getting consent & making changes to your home

Here’s our guide to all you need to know about getting consent to make changes to your home. You need to get our consent before going ahead with any work.

We appreciate you might want to make changes to your Curo home to make it just how you want it. As a Curo resident, you’re allowed to make some alterations. This might be changing something that’s already in place (like flooring) or adding something new (like putting up a shed).

When you ask for permission to make any changes to your home or garden, there are certain things that we’ll need to consider before we can give the go-ahead – such as whether it will create any safety risks.

Our Property Consents Policy sets out all of this in more detail.

Below is a summary of some of the key points, or you can read the full policy on our Policies page.

Curo's Property Consents Policy - key points

Our Commitment

When we’re considering a request we will:

• Make sure our homes are safe, healthy, affordable and warm
• Keep our communal spaces a welcoming place for everyone
• Give consent unless we believe the work will:
  - make the home or garden unsafe for you or future customers
  - have a negative impact on the home or the neighbourhood
  - not be carried out to a safe, professional standard
  - make it harder for us to re-let the home when you leave, or devalue the property
  - go against planning conditions or building regulations, such as fire safety regulations
  - make any guarantees, insurances or warranties invalid
  - the materials, fixtures or fittings used are inferior quality to those already in the home
  - make the home more expensive for us to maintain
  - stop the communal space being accessible for everyone
• Give technical input or guidance before approval, if needed
• Always focus on the customer
• Consider any effects on the environment
• Involve customers in deciding how we deliver the consents service
• Respond to the request within 30 working days

What we'll ask from you

If you want to make alterations or improvements we’ll ask you to:

• Ask for consent in writing, using our Consent form. (We can help you fill this in if needed)
• Prove that you’ve got any necessary planning permission
• Show us that the person carrying out the work has got relevant certificates, qualifications and warranty, including adequate public liability certificates
• Give us access to inspect the work
• Provide a copy of the specification for work, including the materials that will be used

Asbestos

If we think there may be asbestos in your home:

• We’ll arrange for an asbestos survey, at no cost to you
• Remove asbestos if needed and replace ceilings or boxes around pipes. We won’t make any other repairs, such as replacing floor tiles

When your tenancy ends

• If we’ve approved an alteration we may consider paying you compensation when your tenancy ends. The amount you could get is worked out using a set formula which you can find in the full policy
• If we haven’t given you permission we could ask you to return the property to its former state, or charge you for the cost of doing so

We won’t give consent if:

• you owe us money (you’re in arrears).
• you do not have a valid EICR/Gas Safety check 

If you’re a leaseholder:

• There will be a charge attached to your consent request, please contact a member of our team at consents@curo-group.co.uk if you would like to discuss this

If you have a query or want advice please contact us here

You don't need to ask for consent for:

Inside your home

• Dishwasher/washing machine where there is already space for one and no alterations are needed to plumb one in
• Internal, non-glass doors
• Kitchen doors in houses and bungalows (not flats). A fire door is advised, but is not mandatory
• Smart meters
• Mixer taps
• Water meters
• Window restrictors to the ground floor
• Decorating inside your home
• Putting up pictures, shelves or mirrors
• Fitted wardrobes
• Curtain rails
• Fixed mobility aids, such as bathroom grab rails
• Laminate flooring in houses and bungalows, as long as it is slip resistant to at least R10 rating

Outside your home

• Cable TV/telephone/internet - only if underground or using existing cables
• Ground anchors (to secure a bike, caravan or similar)
• Key safe for care reasons
• Outside tap
• Garden decoration, planting and minor paving
• Non-permanent (ie inflatable) 13-amp plug and play hot tub/jacuzzi - must not be used indoors
• Hand or grab rails
• Temporary access ramps

We may give consent for:

You still need apply for consent before starting any work and important conditions must be met.  When we grant consent, we will provide more detailed terms and conditions to you with any approval documentation.

Inside your home

• Bathroom upgrades (including electrical fittings)
• Dishwashers (if there's space, but alterations are needed for plumbing)
• Electric fittings (lights, sockets, burglar alarms, wired smoke alarms, CCTV, any other electrical fitting)
• Insulation (excluding lofts)
• Taking out kitchen units to make space for a fridge or freezer
• Kitchen upgrades (including electrical fittings)
• Adding extra radiators
• Showers (including electrical fittings)
• Motorised accessibility aids, such as bath lift or stair lift
• Loft conversions
• Canopies

Outside your home

• Canopies
• Driveways
• Electrical fittings (for example, lights, CCTV, car charging points)
• Additional locks to the front or back door
• Garden works - any extensive landscaping, such as excavation
• Mobility scooter storage
• New fencing (where there has never been fencing previously)
• Patio doors (where they currently exist)
• Cat flaps
• Replacing existing fencing with different fencing (for example, a different type or height)
• External decoration (house or bungalow only)
• Putting up a shed (wooden or similar non-permanent structure)
• Demolishing a brick shed
• Hot tubs or jacuzzi (32amp with electrical supply)
• Permanent access ramps
• Mobility scooter or buggy storage unit
• Garage alterations (power, lighting or doors/access)
• UPVC windows or doors (house or bungalow only)
• Electric vehicle charging points
• Changes to communal green infrastructure
• Communal play equipment

We don't give consent for:

This means you cannot carry out any of the below work to your Curo home if you are a Curo tenant. If you are a leaseholder please contact us for more information.

Inside your home

• Hearth
• Gas central heating
• Gas cooker (where no gas pipe already exists in the kitchen)
• Glazed internal doors
• Wood burners or any coal/wood fire that needs chimney/flue cleaning, or an additional flue installation
• Structural changes to walls, floors, ceilings and joists
• Knocking down or putting up internal walls
• Laminate on flooring for flats that first floor or higher
• Loft conversions in any accommodation with flats

Outside your home

• Conservatories
• Extensions
• New external doors (where there isn't one already)
• Replacing the front door lock with an internal key lock (except where there is a medical need, for example a child with medical issues)
• Metal security gates/grills
• Ponds
• Satellite dish for a flat in a block containing four or more flats 
• Structural work
• Porches
• Alterations or replacement of flat front doors
• Conversion of single skin external store rooms
• Lean-to
• Swimming pools or hot tubs
• Using outbuildings as bedrooms
• Solar (PV) panels
• Electricity to sheds

Frequently asked questions 

When do I need to get consent?

The short answer is, you always need to ask us for consent. The list above covers popular alterations or additions that you can carry out, as long as you have been granted consent approval from us and you meet any guidelines and conditions. 

If these conditions aren’t met, we can ask you to reinstate the property back to how it was, at your cost.

For all consent requests you will need to complete a consent application form and we will need to approve this request before works begin. You can request a form here.

Will I need an asbestos survey before starting any work?

If your home was built before 2000 you may require an asbestos survey and safe removal of any asbestos before works begin. Please ask if you’re unsure. No works can begin without the asbestos checks being completed. 

Do I have to complete a consent application form?

Yes. All consent requests will need a form completed; without a form we are unable to process any requests. The form must have all sections completed. If you need help or guidance completing the form please contact us. Please allow up to 30 days to respond to your consent request.

Will Curo need to inspect the works?

We may need to come out to your home for major consent requests to complete pre-inspections, mid-inspections and post-inspections. Some inspections can be completed without a visit, others may require one of our surveyors to visit to help progress the consent request forward. We will make you aware of visits when granting consent.

What if I move out of my home?

Certain types of work will need to be reverted to their original state before you move out of your home. This will be made clear within our terms and conditions when granting consent.

I’ve already carried out work without your getting Curo's consent. What should I do?

Please complete our consent request form, clearly describing the works that have been completed. We will process the application and contact you with the next steps. 

To make a request

• Check the list below to see the types of work we can give consent for, and any guidelines and conditions for the different types of work.
• Complete our consent request form below. You can’t go ahead with any work unless we give consent.
• If your consent is approved you will need to meet the conditions supplied with any approvals.
• If in doubt, contact us and ask for advice.
• Please allow 5 working days for a response to your request