If you need to a repair carried out to your home, here’s what you need to know.
First, check the list of repairs below to see who’s responsibility it is – ours or yours. We’re not obliged to repair anything that’s been damaged or misused by you, your family or visitors, or anything not belonging to us. If we do have to repair something for health and safety reasons, you will have to pay for it.
Who’s responsible for repairs?
Response times
We’ve listed the response times for different types of repairs below. Sometimes, we’ll need to visit you to inspect the problem first.
Priority 1 – Emergency repairs: within 24 hours
These repairs are when there’s a serious health and safety or security risks, or where we need to make immediate repairs to prevent major damage to your home. In these cases, we’ll tell the contractor to visit as quickly as possible and complete the work or make your home safe within 24 hours.
Serious floods and leaks
Loss of heating and/or hot water between 1st November and 30th April
Loss of cold water supply
Lift breakdowns
Complete loss of electricity
No lighting throughout the home
Exposed wires
Damage to windows or doors which makes the home insecure
Boarding and securing empty properties
Blocked drains or toilets where there is only one WC
Dangerous ceilings, plasterwork and walls
To report an emergency repair (priority 1) outside office opening hours, on weekends or public holidays, call 0300 123 3456, and we’ll arrange for a contractor to visit your home within 24 hours.
Please note: if you call out the emergency repairs contractor for a non-emergency repair, you’ll be charged for the cost of the work.
Priority 2 – Routine repairs: up to 35 days
These are repairs which cause inconvenience or discomfort. We aim to complete all routine repairs within 35 days.
Loss of heating and hot water between 1st May and 31st October
Blocked sinks, basins, baths and showers
Leaking roofs, toilets and drains
Repairs to collapsed ceilings and floors
Faulty front or back doors
Faulty communal lights
Defective entry phone doors
Faulty communal lights
Defective entry phone doors
Major communal repairs such as roof leaks or communal door replacement will take longer to diagnose and remedy.
Frequently asked questions
Usually, we’ll offer you a morning or afternoon appointment slot. We can’t give specific times as sometimes jobs over-run, which has a knock-on effect. If you’re not happy with the repair, contact us as soon as possible. We may need to visit your property to see the work for ourselves before taking further action.
Apart from day-to-day repairs, we will decorate the outside of your property (plus any internal communal areas) and carry out routine maintenance (such as renewing guttering or drainpipes) as needed. We’ll give plenty of notice and ask you about colour schemes and so on, if this applies.
We’re proud of our repair service and work hard to keep improving. Occasionally, we’ll ask for your views on how we’re doing and to see if you have any suggestions for making the service better.
You’ll also receive annual reports from us about our repairs performance: how much we’re spending, how we’re meeting our targets and such like.
The Government requires us to do some repairs within a certain time. In the unlikely event we fail to do this, you have the legal remedy of right to repair.
If you’re struggling to move around your home because of a disability or illness, let us know as soon as possible. We can usually make various small adaptations, such as fitting grab rails. An occupational therapist would have to recommend more extensive adaptations. Contact us for more information.
You can improve, change and add to the property but you will need our written agreement first, along with any other necessary permissions (for example, building regulation approval). You may also need to ensure improvements you make meet any special conditions, or are carried out to certain standards. Rest assured, we won’t refuse permission to make improvements without good reason.
