Legal

Terms of business

The main points of how we work, in plain English. Your written quote and order are the documents that count.

Last updated August 2026.

Quotes and orders

We give prices in writing. Each quote states how long it stays valid for. Work starts only when you have accepted the quote, in writing or by email. If something unexpected turns up once we open a wall up, we stop, tell you, and price it before carrying on.

The home assessment

The home assessment is free. It covers the visit, the written Staying Home Plan and a call to go through it. The plan is yours to keep and to use with anyone, and it does not commit you to having any work done by us.

Payment

A deposit is payable on larger jobs before work starts, with the balance once the job is finished and signed off. Both figures are set out on your quote before you accept it. We invoice from HomeSafe Devon even when several trades have been involved, and every invoice is itemised.

Cancelling

Because our orders are agreed in your home or at a distance, you have a statutory right to cancel within 14 days of placing the order, without giving a reason. If you ask us to start work inside those 14 days and then cancel, you may be asked to pay for what has already been done. If you want to move a booked visit, just tell us and we will rearrange it, no charge.

Membership

Membership runs month to month. You can cancel it by email or in writing at any time, and we will confirm the date it ends. There is no exit fee. Any work already carried out is still payable.

Our work and your guarantee

We will carry out the work with reasonable care and skill, using suitable materials, and we will leave the place tidy. The guarantee on each job is stated on your quote. Manufacturers' guarantees on equipment such as stairlifts apply on their own terms, and we will give you the paperwork.

Nothing in these terms affects your legal rights as a consumer.

Partners and subcontractors

Some work is carried out by local firms we select, brief and manage. We check that anyone we use is competent for the job and holds their own insurance and any registration their trade requires. We remain your point of contact throughout. If there is a problem with the work, take it up with us and we will put it right.

Access and safety

We need reasonable access on agreed dates, and safe conditions to work in. If we cannot get in, or the job cannot be done safely, we will ring you rather than start anyway.

Insurance and liability

We hold public liability insurance, and we will provide the certificate on request. We are responsible for loss or damage we cause. We are not responsible for problems that were already present in the property, for the condition of parts of the house we were not asked to work on, or for losses that could not reasonably have been expected. None of this limits our liability where the law does not allow it to be limited, including for death or personal injury caused by negligence.

Building regulations and standards

Most of what we arrange is minor work that does not need building regulations approval. Where a job does, for example forming a level access shower that affects drainage, structural alterations, or a new circuit, we tell you before you accept the quote and we make sure the work is notified and certified properly.

Electrical work is carried out by a competent electrician and certified to BS 7671, and notifiable work is registered under a competent person scheme. Gas work is carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Where a job needs building control sign-off, you receive the completion certificate for your records.

Grab rails, stairlifts, ramps and similar equipment are specified and installed to the manufacturer's instructions and, where they apply, to the recommendations in BS 8300 and Approved Document M on access and use of buildings. If your home is listed or in a conservation area, we will tell you what consent is needed before anything is ordered.

What we are here to do

HomeSafe Devon looks after the property. We assess the home, arrange and manage the work, and carry out practical check-in visits to keep the house safe and in good order.

We are not a care provider and we are not regulated by the Care Quality Commission. We do not provide personal care, nursing, medication support or medical advice, and our visits are not a welfare or health assessment. Where care is needed, that arrangement is between the customer and the care provider, and it sits outside our work.

Nothing we do replaces professional advice. On the Disabled Facilities Grant we can explain the general position and help you apply, but the decision rests with your council. We do not give financial advice.

If something goes wrong

Tell us. Our complaints procedure sets out what happens next and how quickly.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales.