Repairs to your home

• We will assess the repair to see if it is an emergency, urgent or routine
• We will let you know the outcome of our assessment and how long the repair is likely to take based on our agreed service standards
• We will put the details onto our system
• We will place an order with a contractor.

If necessary, we may arrange for someone to visit your home to assess the problem before placing an order. If it is an emergency, we will ask you to stay at home until the contractor arrives. For urgent and routine repairs, our contractors will contact you directly to arrange a good time.

Repairs are considered an ‘emergency’ where there is either a risk to someone’s life or a risk of serious injury if not repaired immediately. This includes repairs that cannot wait until the next morning.

An emergency repair will be dealt with as quickly as possible. We expect tenants to remain in the property, if safe to do so, and that access will be given to our contractors.

The contractor who visits may only do the necessary work to make your home safe. A further appointment may then be required to finish the repair. If you call out a contractor for non-emergency repairs you may be recharged if those repairs are not deemed an emergency.

What to do in an emergency 

All repairs, other than emergency repairs, are arranged by appointment. One of our contractors will phone you to make arrangements. It is important you keep appointments or let us know in advance if you are unable to. If you can't make an appointment, you will need to contact the contractor directly to rearrange.

If you are not in when the contractor comes to do a repair, they will leave a card telling you that your repair has been cancelled. You'll need to call us again if you still want to have the repair carried out.

If you can’t be at home during our contractors' normal working hours, you should arrange for a relative, neighbour or friend to wait in for you. This person must be a responsible adult who will stay in your home while the contractor does the work.

• Arrange for a responsible adult (someone who is at least 18 years old) to be at home
• Let us know if you are hard of hearing or if you need more time to get to your door
• Make sure your electricity or gas meter is in credit. Contractors may need to use these to carry out checks
• Keep your children safe while work is being done and keep any pets out of the way
• You should stop smoking before our contractors and staff arrive and not smoke while they are in your home.
• Put away any breakable or valuable items so they don’t get accidentally damaged.

We will tell you if you need to move or protect any furniture, or if you need to take up floor coverings, such as carpets or laminate. You should do this before the contractor arrives. If you are having difficulties with this, please let us know.

When the contractor arrives, check their identity card. Before you let anyone into your home, you should make sure they are genuine. If they are calling to carry out a repair service or inspection, you can also ask to see their work instructions.

For some repairs, the contractor may use the first appointment to measure for materials. They will then arrange a suitable time with you to come back to do the repair.

In bad weather we will always make things safe but contractors may not be able to carry out repairs to the outside of a building. This is for their own safety.   

Contractors working in your home must:

• Show respect for you and your home at all times
• Treat all details about you in confidence
• Introduce themselves and show you their identity card
• Show consideration to the needs of tenants that have a disability or vulnerability
• Explain what they are going to do and how long they expect it to take
• Close doors and gates when coming in and out of your home
• Make sure that the materials and tools they use, including scaffolding and controlled substances, do not cause danger to anyone in your home
• Protect your belongings from damage, dust and paint
• Make sure electricity, water and gas are connected at the end of the day
• Remove any rubbish they have produced from your home at the end of each working day.

Contractors are not allowed to:

• Smoke, drink alcohol or play radios
• Use mobile phones, unless it is to deal with matters relating to the work
• Move your belongings without permission and without you being present
• Receive gifts (including money) from tenants or members of the household
• Be left in your home alone
• Keep keys to your home
• Carry out private work for you.

They must ask your permission to:

• Use any of your belongings, such as ladders or chairs
• Use your phone
• Use your toilet or go into other rooms in your home
• Take their lunch break in your home
• Use your electricity supply.

If damage was caused by our contractors, you need to report the problem to us. You are responsible for all other damage, for example accidental damage. You should take out home contents insurance to help you pay for this.

We group repairs according to whether they are an emergency, urgent or routine. The times are measured from the date you report the problem to us.

We may need to look at the repair before work can be ordered, especially if we think it needs a spare part. We do this by appointment within the response period.

Repair response times are listed in our Service Standards

If we fail to carry out certain repairs without good reason or outside of the agreed timescales, you have the right to carry them out and claim the money back from us. However, you must have our permission before you start work.

This is known as your "Right to Repair". There is a procedure you need to follow if you want to do this. The scheme is complicated and it is best if you seek guidance from Citizens Advice or your solicitor first. We will not make any payment unless you have our permission in writing.

For more details of the scheme please contact us.

Before we appoint a contractor, we follow a rigorous tender process, detailing where and what the contract is for, outlining the scope of the works and allowing an initial 30 days for all interested parties to make observations and submit their nominations.

The second stage of the process involves shortlisting at least two contractors before a final selection is made. The process includes an assessment of the quality of their workmanship as well as their costs per job. We also consider the financial position of the contractor and their ability to fulfil the contract. We aim to ensure value for money by choosing contractors who deliver a quality service at reasonable cost.

Monitoring performance

Once appointed, we monitor performance closely. Each of our contractors must work to a set of key performance indicators, so we can monitor how well they are performing and quickly address any issues.

If a contractor is not performing against these measures, we put in place a 3-month performance plan to help them focus on where they need to improve. If there is no improvement within the 3 months, we will take steps to stop using that contractor.

We have appointed an independent Contract Administrator to manage our contractors and improve their performance. We now also have 4 Repairs Officers in place to check repairs are done satisfactorily, with a view to recruiting a fifth in the future.

How you can help improve standards

Your feedback as a resident is invaluable in helping us shape decisions about whether we need to change contractors in a local area. When a repair is due to be completed, we send a text message to ask you if it’s been done, and to a satisfactory standard. Please help us know that repairs are being carried out properly, by replying to those text messages after each repair job is completed.

We also welcome recommendations for reliable contractors in your local area, although please bear in mind that all recommended contractors will be subject to our procurement process.

We welcome your involvement in the procurement process. If you would like to know more about this, please contact us to let us know you are interested.