Alterations and adaptations

You have the right to carry out improvements to your home as long as you get our permission before you start. You may also need to get building regulation approval or planning permission. You are responsible for finding this out. We will not refuse permission for you to carry out work unless we have a good reason to. If you have permission to carry out work, you must follow any guidelines we, Newcastle City Council’s planning department and building control section give you. Whatever work you plan to do to your home, it is best to ask us for permission first. However, the list below gives some examples of improvements that you need permission for.

• Decorating the outside of your home
• Installing a shower
• Putting in extra electrical sockets
• Installing an electric vehicle charging point
• Installing central heating or moving radiators
• Building a shed or greenhouse
• Fitting a new bathroom suite or a shower
• Fitting new kitchen units or replacing existing ones
• Building a fireplace
• Building a garage, lean-to, driveway or hardstanding for a car
• Changing windows, front doors or back doors
• Building a conservatory
• Fitting laminate flooring
• Knocking down or building inside walls to change rooms
• Installing a stair lift or other adaptation
• Putting up a satellite dish or TV aerial
• Putting up wall tiles and Artex

To apply for permission to carry out improvements to your home, you MUST read the information below BEFORE completing the online Home Alterations Application Form

• Provide as much information as you can about the planned work, including any drawings.
• Find out if you need building regulations approval or planning permission (if you do, contact the relevant council department and give your local community housing team a copy of the approval).
• Please try the new Interactive Planning tool which will help you see if you need full written planning permission from the city council.  - Interactive Planning Portal    However, you will still need to fill in this application for alterations.
• Let us know the expected start date and when you think you will have finished the work so that we can inspect it, if necessary. This is to check that the work has been done to an acceptable standard.  If it has not, you will have to pay to bring it up to standard.
• Once your form is with us, please wait until you have approval from us in order to carry out the work.   Please allow 10 working days before contacting us if you haven't heard what the outcome is.   There may be an issue with your application, for example, technical drawings aren't specific enough.
• When YHN has made the decision, we will contact you by email so don't forget to provide an up to date email address.
• If you don't have access to a computer then contact your local community housing team and ask for an application form (our staff will be happy to help you fill in the form if you want).
• If you have any further questions about alterations please speak to your Tenancy & Estate Officer. For the contact details of your local Housing Office, click here.

The adaptations service can help tenants who are older or disabled to live independently at home by carrying out alterations to make their property easier to live in.

To find out if you qualify for an adaptation, you need to be assessed by Newcastle City Council Adult Services.

To arrange an assessment, phone the Adult Social Care Direct Team on 0191 278 8377, textphone 0191 278 8312 or email scd@newcastle.gov.uk.

The Equipment Direct Team from the Adult Social Care Direct Team may be able to provide you with some equipment or carry out simple alterations to your home.

However, if your situation is more complicated, a member of the Occupational Therapy Team will visit you to carry out a more detailed assessment and decide with you the best way to help you live independently.

If it is not possible or reasonable to make adaptations then the option of rehousing may be considered.