The Council house garden rules

In this brief guide, we are going to discuss the council house garden rules, what they are and if you should be concerned by them.

Council house garden rules

Council house garden rules are pretty had to come by but essentially as with anything minor improvements and renovations are allowed but major work such as building a pool or adding a conservatory which will change the structure of the house will need permission from the council before you can make these adjustments.

Keeping your council house garden tidy

Another council house garden rule which most council houses (and housing associations)will have is that the council house tenant should ensure that their gardens are kept to a ‘satisfactory standard’. 

This will likely be mentioned in your agreement although it will likely not mention exactly what a “satisfactory standard” actually means. In this case, you may want to consider asking your council for a list of things which they consider as “satisfactory standard”

A reasonable expectation is that you keep the grass in your council house garden at a particular height. You keep the council house garden tidy, you trim the hedges and avoid any rubbish or refuse being dumped in your garden

Making changes to your council house garden

Council houses usually have a stipulation that you must leave them as you found them except where you had express permission from the council to make any amendments. This means the council house garden rules will be the same.

You should also consider that you may need planning permission for certain work which you may need to do in your council house garden.

Before doing any work in your council house garden you should consider seeking planning permission from the local council. 

Some of the work which may require planning permission includes:

You usually won’t need planning permission for things which are considered “permitted developments”  but what is termed as “permitted developments” may differ from one council to another so seeking guidance from your council before you make any alterations to your council house garden could go a long way from saving you from being evicted or losing money.

If you are a council house tenant with a secured tenancy then you will usually be allowed to do the below in your garden:

building an extension

putting up a garden shed or greenhouse

If you are however wondering about council house garden rules then your best bet is to follow the standard rules which are set out for planning permission as the council your house is located will also be your landlord hence any authorisation given from them to do any work in your council house garden will be valid.

In this brief guide, we discussed the council house garden rules, what they are and if you should be concerned by them.

If you need financial advice and you live in the UK then you could contact the Money Advice service over the phone or via chat for impartial advice.

You can also contact the debt charity “Step Change” if you are in debt and need help.