Repairs and Maintenance Policy

9.1. Outside of the normal working hours, including bank holidays, your call will be diverted to our out of hours customer repair reporting centre.

9.2. Customers should contact Home Repairs via phone on 0800 408 6008 to be given advice on what action to take to make the property safe. Where this advice cannot be actioned by the tenant, neighbour, family or friend, an operative will visit the home within 24 hours and will make the property safe.

9.3. Emergency repairs are deemed as repairs which if not dealt with quickly, could cause injury to the occupants, public or further damage to the home.

9.4. For tenants that are vulnerable or have specific needs, reasonable measures may be taken in addition to the make safe policy. For example, temporary heating may be provided in certain circumstances.

9.5. Where the operative makes safe, a return visit will be required to finish the repair. This return visit will be arranged according to the urgency of the repair and in line with our timescales. We will aim to complete the repairs at the earliest opportunity. In some cases, parts or materials may be required which may delay the repair. In these circumstances the customer will be advised of progress until the repair is complete.

9.6. Outside of normal working hours we will only accept repairs categorised as emergency repairs. If the reported repairs are not deemed as an emergency, then the customer may be asked to call back during normal working hours.

9.7. If customers request an out of hours work service that is greater than is considered reasonable, then they will be advised that if the service could have been dealt with reasonably within normal working hours, then they may be required to pay for the service provided.

9.8. Emergency repairs include:

• board up a window or a external door - when all panes of glass are broken
• electrics (dangerous)
• gas heating out of order (November to February only)
• electric heating out of order (November to February only)
• pipe has burst inside property
• change lock to door if the door is insecure or the tenant locked out
• alarm sounding continuously
• main drain blocked
• no lighting or power to whole property
• toilet blocked "unusable and no alternative"
• internal soil pipe leaking
• fumes from gas appliance
• make safe external wall, where a risk to the household or public
• emergency lighting out of order
• refuse chute blocked
• supply temporary heating (November to February only)
• lift malfunction (passenger)

9.9. It is your responsibility to pay any associated repair charges for works undertaken by us that are deemed as rechargeable repairs due to carelessness or deliberate action by you or any visitors to your home.

9.10. Details of holiday periods over Christmas and New Year and repair reporting arrangements are published on our website.