Repairs
maintenance service

Sometimes it may be necessary for a property manager to call and carry out an inspection before a contractor is given an order to carry out repair works.
Such inspections would normally be carried out within 10 days but if you are of pensionable age, disabled or a particularly vulnerable tenant, they would be given a higher priority and carried out sooner, usually within seven days. We will usually be able to offer you an appointment (a.m. or p.m.) for when the property manager will call.

When a contractor is issued with an order to carry out a repair it states one of the following priority categories:

Priority 1 (Emergency work) – Work to be attended to within six hours of receipt of notification of a repair request deemed to be an emergency repair. This category is to be used where lives or health are at risk or there is serious risk to property. Permanent repairs may be carried out at a later date. The purpose of this priority category is to ensure safety.

Priority 2 (Urgent work) – Work to be completed within five working days. This category is to be used where the need for a repair causes
hardship or inconvenience and there is some likelihood of serious
damage to the property.

Priority 3 (Routine repairs) – Work to be completed within 20 days.
This category is to be used where there is no risk to life or health and
the repair would only cause minor inconvenience and there is no
likelihood of damage to the property.

Priority 4 (Planned repair) – Work to be completed within 30 working days. This category is to be used where the repair may require inspection and/or ordering of parts or specialist equipment. Also included in this category will be work that can be planned as part of other work in the same area with no inconvenience or risk to residents or the public. In some cases the full repair may be programmed for a later date. You will be informed if this is the case.

Please note: If you are a particularly vulnerable resident you may be given additional priority if you make this known when reporting your repair. The following are examples of the possible usage of the repair priority categories:

Repair Example
Priority 1: Faulty lock to main entrance door to the flat block which compromises security of the building
Priority 2: Failure of lighting to communal corridor
Priority 3: Damage to internal door in communal corridor
Priority 4: Making good to damaged decorations in communal corridor

If an inspection needs to be made, or repairs are required to your home, you must let our employees, agents and contractors have access. We will give you reasonable notice of this.

When a repair is requested, we will contact you, acknowledging receipt of the repair request, detailing the contractor or directly employed staff assigned to carry out the repair and informing you of the likely timescale for completing the works. If you have any queries concerning the repair, or the work is not completed on time, please contact us.

The emergency out of hours freephone number can be used outside office hours but only to report emergency repairs. An emergency repair is when it is so urgent that it cannot reasonably be reported on the next working day.

Examples of emergency repairs are:
– Uncontrollable burst pipes or severe leaks (not controllable by using a stop valve or stopcock).
– Blocked main drains within the property boundary. Blocked main drains in the road may be the responsibility of either the local authority or the water provider.
– Serious or unsafe electrical systems to communal areas.
– Hate crime graffiti.

Outside normal office hours the freephone telephone number transfers directly to a mobile telephone. The mobile telephone will be answered by a duty officer who will not be working in our offices but will be ‘on-call’ to receive your call. This officer will decide if the situation is a true emergency and will, if considered necessary, arrange for the most appropriate course of action to deal with the emergency repair. In most cases the action will only be to make safe until the next working day.

There may be occasions when it is not possible to connect your call with the mobile telephone. For example, if there is a weak signal or if the member of staff is travelling in a car. When this happens you will be greeted with a message – please remember to state your name, address, post code and contact telephone number.

In most of these cases your call should be returned within 15 minutes. Please remember that an emergency fault will be dealt with on a call out basis and only essential work will be carried out. Further repairs or replacement work may be ordered on the next working day. You should contact gas or electrical companies directly in the event of a leak or major power failure. In the event of a total loss of water supply you should check with your water provider to see if there is a burst pipe locally affecting your supply. We may seek to recover our costs for any misuse of this out of hours emergency repairs service and in these cases may decide to recharge customers.

A copy of our code of conduct for contractors can be provided on request. Please contact us if you would like a copy.

If you have moved into a newly built home it will be covered by the builder’s guarantee. This is often called the ‘defects liability period’. Repairs occurring during this period will normally be undertaken by the builder. This guarantee is usually for a period of six or 12 months. Details about this and how to report a repair during the period are included in the information booklet that we will have given you about your new home.

If you are unsure about this you can contact the Repairs Freephone Team. It would be helpful if you could inform the person answering your telephone call that your home is new. We will arrange for any necessary repair work to be carried out within the appropriate timescales by the builder or contractor.

We consult with leaseholders before we start any major works of repair, maintenance or improvement for which you are required to contribute and which will cost any leaseholder more than £250.00. You can only be charged for major works in accordance with your lease agreement. Examples of major works include window or roof renewal and replacement of door entry systems to communal areas. We will also consult you about certain long-term agreements or contracts lasting 12 months or more which we intend to enter into and will cost you more than £250.00 per year, for any one piece of work.

If you would like further information about planned works please contact us. If we carry out planned or responsive repairs to your block/estate and the value exceeds £250.00 per resident per annum, we have to inform you of the estimated value and provide you with the reasons why we are undertaking the work. This is called a Section 20 Notice. The Notice will provide you with: details of the work who we intend to invite to tender (if existing contract partnerships – how long they have been running) contact details of the member of staff dealing with the project details of where to view the specification and tender documentation the period the Notice is effective. This Notice will be issued in writing to you and may also be displayed within the communal parts of your block. The Notice will also indicate the likely cost of the work which will include VAT at the relevant rate and professional fees.