Guides: answers to the question you ask right before you hire someone
No price lists, those are in the price guides. These are the questions you run into once you already know what needs doing and you want to know whether it is allowed, who pays for it and who is allowed to do it. Every answer rests on legislation or on a regulator, and the sources are listed in plain sight.
Can I install an air conditioner myself?
Mounting it is fine, connecting it is not. What the F-gas rules mean, when you still need a permit, and the noise limit that applies at the property boundary.
Broken window in a rented home: who pays?
Small glass damage is the tenant's, larger glazing is not. What the Minor Repairs Decree says, what happens after a storm, and how your insurance fits in.
Can I still buy rat or mouse poison myself?
The rules on rodent poison have been tightened step by step since 2023, with a final step on 17 June 2026. What you may still do yourself, why poison often backfires, and where the council does and does not step in.
Can I lay a hard floor in my apartment?
Laminate, parquet or tiles in an apartment is far from always allowed. The ten decibel rule from the 2017 model regulations, and what your floor fitter has to deliver.
Wasp nest: who pays to have it removed?
On your own land you pay yourself; the council only comes out in public space. What tenants should do first, and why a nest in a cavity wall is a separate story.
Blocked toilet
What you can try yourself in ten minutes, and how to tell the sewer is the problem.
Tracing a leak
How to find a leak without opening up the wall, and what leak detection costs.
Power failure
Working through the fuse box yourself, and how to tell it is the grid and not you.
Mould on the wall
What you can remove yourself, how to find the cause, and who pays for it in a rented home.
Repairing wood rot
How to spot wood rot, how far repair still makes sense, and when replacing works out cheaper.
Mice in the house
What actually works against mice, what is wasted money, and why poison is no longer an option for consumers.
Roof leaking
What to do in the first hour, where the leak usually really is, and who ends up with the bill.
Cracks in the wall
Which cracks are harmless, which are not, and how to measure over three months whether it is still moving.