The estate office can provide a range of helpful information and give you advice on whether a licence is needed for alterations to your flat. Anything that changes the footprint of the flat will require a licence. A copy of the contractor’s current public liability insurance certificate must be shown to the estate office before any work begins.

Tell your contractors that they must not alter any of the existing external pipework, electrical work or services that might affect other flats. Any damage or alterations made to these facilities will be the responsibility of the lessee. Contractors must use the back stairways, particularly when moving materials and machinery, to minimise disruption and damage to the front hallways.

Make sure that all contractors are fully qualified to undertake any work on the premises. Please see also the next subsection to this one “Notes for Contractors”.

Contractors’ hours
Any work in your flat must be carried out between 9am and 5pm from Monday to Friday, with an extra hour allowed for contractors to clear up. Noisy work should start after 9am and no work of any kind should be carried out on weekends or bank or public holidays, so that other residents are not disturbed.

If emergency work needs to be done outside permitted hours, speak to the estate office on 020 8788 1017.

Skips
Skips are not permitted at Manor Fields as there is no suitable areas to accommodate them. The use of ‘wait and load’ service is preferred. The estate’s compactors must not be used.

Asbestos
Asbestos is a hazardous material, regulated by health and safety law, particularly the 2012 Control of Asbestos Regulations. Large amounts of asbestos were used in the construction industry before 2000, for example in insulation for pipework. Asbestos-containing materials, or ACMs, which can result in the release of fibres that are hazardous to health, are likely to be found in older buildings such as Manor Fields.

If a water leak is found beneath your floor, the pipework and lagging will have to be disturbed to remedy the leak. If there is lagging on the pipework, a sample should be taken to see if it contains asbestos. It should be assumed that the lagging is made from an ACM until a safety test shows that it isn’t. If the test for ACM is positive, it may be necessary to remove all asbestos, which will involve getting rid of any redundant heating pipes and usually having a complete new floor as old floorboards will be contaminated. The removal of asbestos under controlled conditions normally takes seven working days.