Opendoor Homes responsibilities

Your tenancy agreement sets out “What we must do as your landlord”. This includes certain repairs that Opendoor Homes, as your landlord, has a legal duty to complete. These include keeping the external structure of your home in good repair and to keep it wind- and water-tight. There is also a number of repairs which are Opendoor Homes’ responsibility to complete which relate to fixtures and fittings inside your home and the maintenance of shared areas and facilities.

The detailed list of repairs which Opendoor Homes is responsible for completing is shared below. You can read Opendoor Homes’ full repairs policy here or the repairs policy quick guide.

Tenant responsibilities 

To help us provide an effective and efficient repairs service, it is your responsibility to:

  1. Promptly inform us of any repairs that are Opendoor Homes responsibility to attend to.
  2. Make sure the area is clear / move any furniture to enable the operative to easily access the repair, if you are able. If you are registered disabled, have any recognised vulnerability, or no family members to help you, we will support you to move furniture though we are not liable for any damage caused during this process. We also ask that you remove, and put back (after repairs are complete), all personal belongings or fittings that would get in the way or hinder repairs being carried out. This includes laminated flooring or carpets if owned by the tenant.
  3. Let us in / provide access when we need to inspect or complete repairs.
  4. Treat our operatives with respect, welcome them into your home, and do not use foul or abusive language/ behaviour. They are here to help you.
  5. Look after any fixtures or fittings in your home (e.g., changing or replacing light bulbs, replacing toilet seats, internal decoration, not disposing of fats or wipes down waste pipes).
  6. Keep your home clean and free from rubbish or clutter. Pests (such as bed bugs and fleas) can get into your home on things like second-hand furniture or clothing. If this happens you will have to pay the cost of getting rid of them.
  7. Keep any outbuilding, yard, or garden clean and free from rubbish. You must keep any trees, hedges, bushes, or grass at a reasonable height and size.
  8. Not smoke or vape whilst we are working in your home.
  9. Keep pets secure and separate from the area of the repair when we are working in your home.

Repair Barnet Homes Tenant
Fittings in homes which supply water, gas, electricity, and sanitation including sinks, basins, baths, and toilets. •
Fittings for water and heating that we supply •
Water leaks including pipework and leaks from your heating system •
Boxing in pipework where it already existed •
Pop-up sink or bath plugs •
Pumps that supply water to or in your home •
Showers that have been installed/ fitted by us •
Storage tanks and water cylinders •
Shared drain blockages in maisonettes and flats •
Collapsed or cracked external pipes and drains that are not the responsibility of the water company •
Toilet flushing mechanisms •
Replacing and repairing toilet seats •
Attempting to clear own waste blockages – including basin, bath, toilet, and kitchen sink. •
Removing minor drain blockages – (not including waste pipes – tenants must demonstrate they have made all reasonable efforts to unblock waste pipes, including the use of a plunger or domestically-available drain cleaning products). •
Chains and plugs on basins, baths, and sinks •
Descaling and replacing shower heads and hoses •
Bathroom accessories such as mirrors, toilet roll holders, and towel rails •
Keeping the kitchen and bathroom clean and in good condition •
Connecting and repairing appliances •
Washing machine or dishwasher wastes, water supplies, or associated pipework •

Reapair Barnet Homes Tenant
Electrical wiring, sockets, and light fittings and kitchen isolator switches •
Shared (communal) TV aerials/ satellite dishes •
Extractor fans and pull chords •
Shaver sockets •
Hard-wired doorbells •
Maintaining mains wired smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. •
Electrical hazards such as exposed or sparking wires •
Lightbulbs in sealed bathroom lights •
Individual TV aerials, satellite dishes or tv sockets •
Telephone lines and points •
Replacing lightbulbs •
Resetting consumer unit (fuse box) •
Connecting and repairing appliances •
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarm battery replacements •

Repair Barnet Homes Tenant
Blown double-glazing units and glass damaged via crime (will require a Crime Reference Number) •
External unsecured doors, frames, & panels (any requests for new doors will be like for like) •
All fire doors (any requests for new doors will be like for like) •
Windows that do not open or close •
Letter boxes and viewers •
Communal entrance additional keys/ fobs •
Window locks and handles •
Kitchen unit doors and frames •
Kitchen unit fronts, backs, and runners •
Internal door frames (only where damage is unintentional) •
Damaged stairs, handrails and bannisters •
Internal door handles and hinges •
Cracked glass •
Cleaning windows and wiping away and condensation •
Medicine cabinets •
Access to home if locked out (lock changes) •
Door chains, door numbers or any additional locks or bolts fitted by you •
Keeping internal doors in good condition •
Keeping your home well-ventilated •
Draft excluders •
Tightening loose bath panels •
Kitchen cupboard and drawer handles •
Replacement of any internal doors (non-fire) regardless of reasons behind renewal •

Repair Barnet Homes Tenant
Front footpaths and steps to homes •
Unsafe garden walls and brick sheds •
Roofs, guttering and downpipes •
Boundary fences and gates •
Dead or diseased trees that cause danger and Japanese knotweed •
Maintaining and repairing dividing garden fences and gates •
Garden maintenance including trees, boundary hedges, paths, and hard standings (if a tenant
has sole use or it is shared with no service charge for maintenance)		 •
Hard standings (if a tenant has sole use or it is shared with no service charge for maintenance) •
Removing rubbish and keeping the garden tidy •
Weeding paths or paving •
Driveways (unless damage caused by another repair issue such as leaks) •
Garden pathways •

Repair Barnet Homes Tenant
Outside external walls, external doors, windowsills, and frames (any requests for new doors
will be like for like)		 •
The internal structure (such as walls, floors, ceilings, and stairs) and larger cracks and
severely crumbling surfaces		 •
Roofs and chimneys (chimneys will not be swept) •
Kitchen and bathroom splashback tiles and seals •
Structural collapse and falling ceilings •
Penetrative and rising damp causing damp and mould •
Internal decoration •
Surface cracks to wall and ceiling plaster •

Repair Barnet Homes Tenant
Infestations of rats, mice, cockroaches, and Pharaoh ants, and (in sheltered schemes only) block infestations of bed bugs •
Shared (communal) areas including entrances, halls, stairways, lifts, rubbish chutes, and bins •
Drains, gutters, and external pipes •
Kitchen and bathroom flooring •
Infestation by pigeons (netting/ spikes repairs or replacement), bedbugs, moths, wasps, bees, or garden ants •
Keeping drains and gullies clear •
Laminate, wooden, tiles, hard, ceramic flooring •
Floor coverings, carpets, carpet thresholds, and carpet grippers •
Keeping your home clean, tidy, no clutter •
Repairs to tenant alterations within the home •