Managing the Project
187 sources in the library on managing the project. Each one says what the document covers and what it is good for. Name a source to see which document it is and where to read it. One at a time. Page 5 of 5.
- fair RN-74737B
Shelter England
Gives the fixed timescales that bind social landlords in England: investigate within 24 hours if the damp and mould is an emergency, or within 10 working days if it is very serious but not an emergency; make the home safe within 24 hours for an emergency, or within 5 working days of finishing the investigation for a very serious non emergency case. The landlord must offer alternative accommodation if it cannot fix very serious damp and mould inside those limits. Escalation is to the landlord's complaints procedure and then the Housing Ombudsman.
- fair RN-BZPZS1
Shelter England
Explains that the law fixes no repair deadline for a private tenancy, only a 'reasonable time' from the day the problem is reported, judged on seriousness, urgency and the vulnerability of the household. Gives worked examples of what to demand in writing: 24 hours for no heating or hot water in cold weather, no water, a dangerous electrical fault or a gas leak, and 48 hours for an unsafe staircase. Recommends reporting in writing, keeping a dated record, and giving the landlord 2 days to reply and agree an appointment.
- fair RN-CGP109
Shelter England
Sets out when a rented home counts as unfit: conditions that seriously affect health, risk physical injury, or stop full use of the home. Lists examples including gas safety risks, unsafe electrics, fire safety failings, vermin, serious damp and mould, no hot water or heating, a leaking roof and unsafe stairs. Applies to all private, housing association and council tenancies for the whole tenancy, not just at the start. Emergency hazards must be made safe within 24 hours and the landlord must provide free rehousing if that is not possible.
- fair RN-XXN941
Shelter England
Splits the repairing duty. Landlord: structure and exterior, walls, windows, roof, gutters and drains, basins, sinks, baths, toilets, pipes, wiring, boilers, heaters, radiators and anything the landlord supplied. Tenant: use the home in a 'tenant like manner', report repairs and damp, and allow access. States the home must be fit to live in for the whole tenancy, that a landlord has 24 hours to fix an emergency hazard and must offer temporary housing if it cannot be made safe in that time, that all landlords must look for the cause of damp rather than blame the occupant, and that a tenant must be given at least 24 hours' written notice before an inspection.
- fair RN-3S3AIR
Shelter England
Splits repairing liability in a leasehold flat. The leaseholder is usually responsible for everything inside the flat, including internal plumbing and wiring, plasterwork and floorboards, paintwork and decoration, and furniture and appliances. The freeholder or management company is usually responsible for the structure, exterior and common parts, recharged through the service charge. Confirms the consultation triggers that apply before the leaseholder can be charged: £250 in total for a one off set of works, and £100 per year for work or services under an agreement running over a year.
- fair RN-HB37Q1
Shelter England
What to secure before vacating for works. Get in writing how long the move out lasts, how much rent is payable, that the tenant can return once repairs are finished, and whether the landlord will pay for moving or storage. Where the landlord fails to fix emergency hazards within 24 hours, it must offer free temporary rehousing. Where the landlord wants possession to carry out major works, the notice periods differ by tenure: a private assured tenant must get at least 4 months' notice, typically by a section 8 notice citing ground 6; a housing association tenant at least 2 months; and a council tenant at least 4 weeks, with the council obliged to find a suitable alternative council or housing association home.
- fair RN-0F64CJ
Southern Water
Two routes are offered, a self-declaration and a formal approval, with published criteria and fees. Self-declaration criteria include: pipe diameter 225mm or less and less than 3m deep; trench fill foundations designed to be at least 150mm below the pipe invert where within 3m horizontally of the public sewer; a minimum 300mm headroom between the underside of the new floor slab and the crown of the pipe; total coverage of the sewer less than 6 metres including pipework already built over; a minimum 1m width left between the boundary and the proposed extension so the garden is not built across its full width; and, where the sewer passes through a load-bearing wall, a foundation design complying with Part H4 and Southern Water's design criteria. The self-declaration is reviewed within 5 days for completeness and a conditional approval letter follows within the next 2 weeks; relocating a manhole chamber or doing minor pipe repairs adds an £84 inspection fee. Formal applications include a CCTV survey in the fee, and £200 is refunded if the applicant supplies their own compliant CCTV survey or if no survey turns out to be needed. A Sewer Protection Agreement carries a separate legal fee of approximately £250 for domestic or residential property and £400 for commercial. Required drawings: existing and proposed site plan at 1:100 or larger showing sewers and manholes, a site location plan at 1:1250 or larger, and a cross-section foundation design at 1:100 or larger. Practical location tips for homeowners: check the deeds, look for manholes and ask neighbours, trace the line and cautiously dig a trial hole, and run a tap or flush drain tracing dye and watch a manhole with a torch to establish direction of flow.
- fair RN-VI6AGO
Thames Water
Sets the trigger distances: an application is likely to be needed if you are building within 3 metres of a public sewer, or within 1 metre of the point where the pipe serving only your property crosses the boundary and becomes a public lateral drain. States plainly that planning permission does not grant permission to build over a sewer or drain, and that work should not start before the agreement is in place because the design may have to change. For a wholly new property, including a car port or shed not attached to the house, Thames Water requires the sewer to be diverted rather than built over. Liability for damage caused to sewers or drains during construction rests with the property owner. Asset maps can be viewed free of charge by appointment at Clearwater Court, Vastern Road, Reading RG1 8DB, or bought from utility search companies or the Property Searches department.
- fair RN-6LXC2H
Thames Water
The document checklist to assemble before applying, because an incomplete submission delays the application: a location plan; existing and proposed building and drainage plans; a sectional drawing showing the proposed foundations against the sewer. Additional items where they apply: proof of disability benefit to claim the fee discount, a piling method statement if using piled foundations, and structural calculations if using a raft. Thames Water notes the plans an architect prepares for building regulations are usually not the same as those needed here, and publishes example drawings to hand to the architect or structural engineer.
- fair RN-ITUBEV
Thames Water
Thames Water's homeowner build-over process, with its published 2026 fee scale and timescales. Three classes by sewer internal diameter: Class 1 £130 (175mm or less), Class 2 £490 (176mm to 350mm), Class 3 £585 (over 350mm) plus additional legal costs starting at £1,000. Class 1 and Class 2 agreements are usually issued within 21 days of receipt of all required information; Class 3 involves legal contracts and the full process can take more than 3 to 6 months. Class 2 fees include pre- and post-construction CCTV surveys; Class 3 adds two surveys by an approved contractor plus impact assessments. Applicants on disability benefit get a £130 discount on proof of entitlement (DWP letter or Blue Badge). Retrospective applications are accepted but need a CCTV or on-site survey to prove no damage, and may be refused if the pipework was not protected to specification. Self-service sewer diversion is offered where the internal diameter is 150mm or less, with a refundable £2,000 cash deposit returned after satisfactory post-construction inspection. Every application needs a location plan, an existing and proposed drainage layout showing manholes and flow direction, and a sectional drawing of the foundations against the sewer with invert levels; piling foundations need a piling method statement and raft foundations need structural calculations.
- fair RN-8UGQSG
Thames Water
What drives the price of a new water connection: the size of the pipe being laid, which is 25mm or 32mm for a house though commercial properties need larger, and the distance from the property boundary to the nearest water main, which is estimated from a site plan bought from the local authority or Thames Water's property searches team. Charges cover laying new pipework from the main to the boundary only, are updated on 1 April each year, and are split into a connection charge and a pipe-laying charge. Ofwat publishes the median UK connection charge as a benchmark, though costs in and around London run higher. Barrier pipe may be specified where contamination is possible, and the charging tables carry separate barrier and non-barrier sections; typical locations named are near garage blocks, petrol stations, cemeteries, railways and industrial sites. For a 25mm external (20mm internal) connection a manifold connection may be cheaper. Lead pipework belonging to Thames Water is replaced free of charge with the same diameter up to 25mm. Signs of an unsuspected shared supply with a neighbour: the stopcock is in a communal area, or flow drops at peak times such as 7 to 8am or children's bedtime.
- fair RN-SNBCMU
Thames Water
The step-by-step clock and the inspection rules for a new water supply. Thames Water aims to issue a quote within 28 days of receiving the completed application form and fees; the quote covers only its work between the property boundary and the water main, with everything on private land the applicant's responsibility, and the charge is cost-recovery. Allow 5 working days for payment to be processed and another 5 working days for the company to process the pipework notification. Any plumber may lay the supply pipe, but Thames Water recommends a WaterSafe approved one, because if the plumber is not WaterSafe approved a water regulations inspection must be booked (0800 009 3921) and the company aims to visit within 7 working days. A chlorination procedure is required for pipes 63mm or over, which does not apply to a typical house, since a home usually needs 25mm or 32mm. For a genuinely new supply, billing account setup follows within 60 days. A 2026/27 online calculator gives a preliminary estimate, with the caveat it can take up to 28 days to receive a real quote.
- fair RN-LNV2A0
Thames Water
Surface water drainage is charged as part of the wastewater bill and covers rainwater running off the roof, driveway or garden into the public sewer. Where surface water instead goes to a soakaway or a nearby stream and the property is not connected to the public sewer for surface water, a rebate can be claimed. The homeowner test given is to follow where the gutters lead: if there is a manhole cover close by, the surface water probably drains into a sewer. The bill states whether a surface water drainage charge is being made or a rebate is already applied. A successful rebate can be backdated up to six years, even if the customer has lived at the property longer. Relevant to anyone fitting a soakaway, a permeable driveway or a rainwater harvesting system, because the drainage change can also reduce a standing charge.
- fair RN-089PZO
The Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE)
What a leaseholder must do before altering a flat. Landlord consent may be needed even where planning permission and building regulations approval are already held. Alterations include structural work such as removing a wall or extending, non structural work such as moving radiators or replacing carpet with wooden floors, and safety critical work such as replacing a flat entrance fire door or changing gas pipes or wiring. Leases either prohibit alterations, allow them, allow them with written consent, or allow them subject to licence conditions such as approving contractors, proof of building regulations compliance, or a deed varying the lease. Flags the demised versus retained premises distinction: the landlord usually owns the roof, external walls, structural walls, shared floors and ceilings, chimneys and flues, so a dormer, skylight, balcony, knock through or wood burner flue touches retained premises. Common restrictive clauses are 'no cutting of external walls' and 'floors must be carpeted'. Where consent is required, the landlord must reply in writing, must not refuse without reasonable grounds, and must state reasons, unless retained premises are involved. Allow the landlord a reasonable response period, suggested as around 2 weeks. Consent fees are administration charges, so must be reasonable and accompanied by a summary of rights. Charging a premium for non structural alterations requiring consent is unlawful, but for work affecting retained premises a premium based on a share of the uplift in value can be charged, with no legal cap and no tribunal challenge. Unauthorised alterations run with the land, bind a later owner, and make the flat harder to sell, remortgage or insure.
- fair RN-Q9Y5GR
The Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE)
The Section 20 consultation thresholds and stages. Consultation is required for qualifying works, meaning repairs, maintenance and improvements costing any one leaseholder more than £250 including VAT, such as roof repair or lift replacement; for a qualifying long term agreement lasting more than 12 months and costing any one leaseholder more than £100 a year including VAT; and for qualifying works of more than £250 under an existing long term agreement. Where service charge shares are unequal the test is applied to the flat paying the largest share. Excluded from qualifying long term agreements are 12 month contracts renewed annually such as buildings insurance and managing agent contracts, employment contracts such as a caretaker, and agreements between a holding company and its subsidiary. The process runs three stages: notice of intention, statement of estimates or notice of proposals, and notice of reasons for awarding the contract; work under an existing long term agreement has only one stage. The response deadline runs from the 'date of the notice', which the tribunal has ruled is usually 2 working days after posting.
- fair RN-1B8BIL
The Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE)
The remedy when Section 20 is not followed. A tribunal will only reduce a service charge where the leaseholder suffered 'relevant prejudice', meaning lost money or lost rights, for example by being unable to nominate a contractor or by having comments ignored so the work was done badly. Where there is no prejudice, the tribunal usually grants the landlord dispensation. Where there is prejudice, the tribunal either grants dispensation conditional on the service charge being reduced by the amount lost, or refuses dispensation and caps recovery at £250 per leaseholder for major works or £100 a year for a qualifying long term agreement. Sets out the Daejan v Benson approach from 2013: the leaseholders must show what they would have said and that they lost money or rights, after which the burden shifts to the landlord. Advance dispensation can be granted where works are urgent such as an unsafe building or serious roof leak, where all leaseholders already agree, or where only a limited number of specialist contractors can do the work, such as a specific lift brand or heritage stonework. Advises paying the service charge under protest while challenging.
- fair RN-3HS9BH
UK Power Networks
Explains why a short move is not a cheap move: the price is effectively distance-independent at the small end, and even moving the supply 10cm inside the property still attracts a minimum charge, because the service cable running under or over the house has to be dug up and physically moved rather than pulled through. A qualified electrician is qualified to move the fuse box and to work on internal wiring, but is not trained or permitted to work on the electricity supply or the meter; the incoming cable from the road can only be moved by the DNO's own engineers. UK Power Networks offers an online cost indicator that takes about 5 minutes rather than publishing a flat price list.
- fair RN-9A6DJF
UK Power Networks
Separates the four things homeowners confuse. The electricity supply (the incoming service cable and cut-out) is moved by the DNO, and the stated common triggers are extending or renovating, building a conservatory, or moving it somewhere more accessible. An overhead power line into the property is moved by the DNO, typically because the cable is in the way of an extension, because fascia, cladding or windows are being replaced, because the pole is in the way and the customer wants the run put underground, or purely for appearance. The electricity meter is legally owned by the electricity supplier and only the supplier can move it; UK Power Networks can move the electricity board, but the supplier must still return to reconnect the meter. The consumer unit or fuse box is neither the DNO's nor the supplier's work: only a qualified electrician can advise and carry it out, although the supplier may need to attend to turn the electricity off.
- fair RN-VL56Z4
UK Power Networks
The six-step sequence for a domestic supply move, and the two things that hold jobs up. UK Power Networks calls back to discuss the project and may arrange a site survey; a surveyor visits and can meet the homeowner, builder or electrician; a detailed price follows the visit and full payment is required before the work is booked. Before the crew arrives the customer must have the trench ready if they chose to dig it themselves, and must have the meter box already installed in the position the meter is moving to. If UK Power Networks is doing the digging it may take a few days before the cable is moved. Critically, the electricity supplier must attend on the same day to refit the meter, otherwise the power cannot be restored, so that appointment has to be booked by the customer in parallel.
- fair RN-CFWTEN
University of Sheffield
Modelled hydrological and microclimate results for retrofitting SuDS into an existing urban catchment on the River Don in Sheffield. Runoff for each scenario was modelled in MUSIC against four storms: a 30 year 60 minute design storm, a 100 year 60 minute design storm, the 04/10/2008 Sheffield storm at a 1.38 year return period, and the 13/06/2007 storm at a 15.97 year return period that preceded the June 2007 Sheffield floods. Findings: SuDS reduced both total runoff volume and peak flow rate from the site across the storms; the flood channel scenario gave greater flow reduction than the street-based scenario for almost all storms, cutting both total volume and attenuating the peak. Microclimate modelling in ENVI-met over a 12 hour summer day showed SuDS scenarios reduced local average air temperatures by up to 1C compared with the as-is case, including late in the day when the urban heat island is strongest, with evening relative humidity below 70 per cent at all sites. The practical caveat: the best-performing scenario needed a greater land area and could not be implemented incrementally, which is why SuDS have to be designed in early rather than added late.
- fair RN-0I7ZCP
Wales and West Utilities
Altering a domestic gas connection starts at £1,000 plus VAT and typically takes 6 to 8 weeks from payment to completion, the same clock as a new connection; relocating a meter for a house or small business starts from the same £1,000 plus VAT baseline. The £1,000 plus VAT starting price also applies as a baseline for commercial premises and multi-unit sites, which are then quoted individually. Moving the meter outside is described as one of the most common reasons homeowners get in touch, usually to free internal space or make way for renovation, and feasibility depends on the property and its pipework. If a planned extension or renovation affects the existing service pipe, a pipe alteration is likely to be needed before work can safely proceed, and the company warns that damaging a gas pipe while digging is a criminal offence. Enquiries 0800 072 6814.
- fair RN-CULODX
Wales and West Utilities
Wales and West Utilities aims to finish the work and have the customer on gas within 6 weeks of payment, but if a road closure is needed the job can take up to 90 days, and depending on workload the process can stretch to 12 weeks. After payment the company contacts the customer within twelve working days to arrange the work, and plans jobs first come first served. If the crew arrives on the agreed date and cannot work for reasons within the customer's control, the example given being scaffolding or skips blocking access, a charge of £40 plus VAT per visit applies.
- fair RN-32UXA9
Wessex Water
A set charge of £325 (non-refundable) applies to applications to build over or near a public sewer. The submission needs a plan and a sectional drawing showing the type and depth of the proposed foundations, with structural calculations where the chosen foundation type requires them. Wessex Water normally expects strip or trench fill foundations wherever possible, and treats raft, piling and cantilever footings as designs needing extra justification. Work must not start on site until formal approval is granted. Where piling foundations are used, Wessex Water carries out a post-works CCTV survey; other further inspections are undertaken by the council's building control. The company recommends locating the sewers well in advance of starting any building work.
- fair RN-04F7JS
Wessex Water
Six criteria which, if all met, let a homeowner build near (not over) a public sewer without notifying Wessex Water at all. Development type must be a single new dwelling, a domestic extension, a domestic garage or minor outbuilding, or a single block of flats; multiple dwelling developments and multiple unit industrial or retail schemes are excluded. Foundation type must be strip, trench or pad footing; raft, piling and cantilever footings are not eligible. Foundations must be a minimum of 500mm (0.5m) clear from the edge of the closest public sewer including the outer wall of any chambers. Foundations installed between 500mm and 2000mm clear of the sewer must be taken to a depth below the bottom of the sewer pipe. The sewer must be gravity-based (foul, rainwater or combined), meaning an open pipe visible in the manhole rather than the fully enclosed pipe of a pumped system. The sewer must not be strategic; strategic sewers typically run 12 inches (300mm) diameter or greater but can be smaller, and Wessex Water will check its records on 01225 526333. If all six are met, save the printable PDF of the conditions for the record and give a copy to building control, and keep photos and drawings as evidence.
- fair RN-3JPZPI
Yorkshire Water
Consent is needed before starting building work over or within 3 metres of a public sewer. If a Building Regulations application has been made, the local authority building control consults Yorkshire Water on the applicant's behalf and the applicant should ask for a copy of the response; without a Building Regulations application, a direct build-over enquiry can be submitted for an upfront fee. Fees: £144 for a desktop study only, £449 for a desktop study plus site inspection. Acknowledgement within 5 working days of application and payment; the technical assessment takes about 14 days and checks the location and condition of nearby assets, past blockages, and land rights such as easements and protected strips. Hard limits: no building over any access point (manhole, gully or inspection chamber), and nothing near pipes larger than 225mm diameter or deeper than 3m. Minor alterations, meaning removing or relocating a manhole, gully or inspection chamber, altering chamber levels, or replacing pipework, are only permitted on pipes inside the property boundary up to 225mm diameter, less than 3m deep and no more than 20m long; anything bigger, deeper or a rising main needs a sewer diversion instead. A property built after 2011 may have unadopted pipework, and a NAV rather than Yorkshire Water may be the sewerage provider. Contact technical.sewerage@yorkshirewater.co.uk. The acceptance letter should be kept for building regulations and for sale of the property.
- fair RN-ZKR28V
Yorkshire Water
Who is allowed to do which part of a water or drainage connection, which decides whether the job can go to a general builder. Work that must be done by a competent contractor includes laying a water supply pipe inside the property boundary, and laying new or replacement sewers or making new sewer connections in either private or public land. Work that can go either way includes new water mains and connections serving a development, which can be done by Yorkshire Water directly or by an accredited self-lay provider subject to acceptance, with adoption agreements governed by Ofwat's Codes for Adoption and Yorkshire Water taking ownership of new assets in the public highway on completion. For a single property or a small development, given as fewer than six properties, Yorkshire Water connects to the existing main. No connection may be made to the public water or sewer network without approval, and where the work crosses third-party land the affected landowner's consent is needed first. The statutory routes are named: Section 45 for water connections to the public main, Section 62 for permanent disconnection, Section 106 for sewer connections and Section 115 for highway drainage connections. Water connections enquiries wbu.service.centre@yorkshirewater.co.uk, 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
- supplier figure RN-G8HAWY
Aico
Manufacturer data for a gateway that collects data from radio interlinked alarms and reports it remotely, the device that turns a domestic alarm system into a monitored one for a landlord or managing agent. Product life is 10 years and warranty is 5 years. Normal operating and storage temperature range is -10C to 40C and weight is 550g. Data is encrypted in both directions in transmission using AES128. Installation is guided step by step through the SmartLINK app on Android and iOS. All alarms in the manufacturer's 3000 Series are compatible with the gateway.