Report a repair

We want your home to be a great place to live. But we rely on you to tell us about repairs that are needed in your home as soon as you notice them.

All repairs should be reported to your housing officer or property management officer (PMO) as soon as possible so they don’t grow into more serious issues. Even if the problem is not affecting you directly – for example a leaking pipe or something broken in the shared area, please report it. The more details you provide (including photos), the more quickly we can arrange for the repair.

Report a repair

  • How to report a repair

    There are a few quick ways for you to report a repair:

    When you report a repair, please be clear about the nature of the problem and leave your name, address and a phone number where we can contact you. If you are reporting damage caused by a break-in, we will need the crime reference number that the police give you.

  • Out-of-hours repairs

    There may be times when you need to report an emergency repair outside our normal working hours listed above. In these cases, call:

    • 0845 603 0714 or
    • Our switchboard on 0203 815 0000 and choose Option 1.

    A contractor will be sent to make the situation as safe as possible and to prevent the problem from getting worse. If any follow-up repairs are required you should be notified by the next working day.

  • How to report a defect

    If you are a homeowner, you can report a defect by filling out our online defects reporting form. Alternatively, you can report a defect directly to your PMO.

    What is a defect?

    If you have moved into a newly-built home, repairs issues that come up within an initial period are known as ‘defects’, and should be reported to us straight away. This is because our development contractors provide a guarantee for their work for a limited time called the ‘defects liability period’, generally 12 months from the date the building is handed over to us. The development contractors are responsible for repairing any defects discovered in your home during this period. After this period, you’ll need to cover the costs of repairs yourself, as you would normally.

    We'll make sure you know the end date for the 'defects liability period’ when you move in.

    When is my last chance to report?

    At the end of the defects liability period there will be an end-of-defects inspection in your home. If any defects remain outstanding, or you notice any more, these must be reported and noted during this inspection. If you don’t report them at this time, we cannot ask the developer to resolve them as part of the build contract.

    In the year following the defects liability period you should report any defect directly to the developer’s aftercare department. You will rely upon the building guarantee in asking the developer to resolve the defect. Following the second year there is a more limited cover via the building guarantor.

    You should keep your new-build policy safe and refer to it in any dispute with the developer.

  • Access for repairs

    There may be times when it is essential for us to access your home to carry out inspections or repairs. We will give you advance notice of this, but we expect you to provide access, as a condition of your tenancy or lease.

  • Repair appointments for tenants

    If you're a tenant, when you report a repair your housing officer will agree a two-hour appointment with you, between 9am and 6pm Monday to Friday, or Saturday morning. This is when we expect the contractor to arrive on site, not necessarily when the work will be completed.

    We try to keep all agreed appointments, but if for some reason we need to change your appointment, we will contact you directly and give you at least 24 hours’ notice of the change. If you cannot keep an appointment that you have made, please make sure that a relative or friend will be in or let your housing officer know as soon as possible so that we can offer that appointment to another customer.

    Please note that our contractors cannot come into your home unless an adult is present throughout the appointment.

How long will repairs take?

If we are responsible for carrying out a repair, we will give it a priority level depending on how urgent the repair is. Each priority level has a timescale for finishing the repair.

Emergency repairs

We aim to carry out emergency repairs within 24 hours. Our first priority is to make the premise safe, which may mean it takes longer to complete the repair itself. Emergency repairs include:

  • Major water leaks
  • Total loss of electricity
  • Gas leaks that are not covered by the gas company
  • Major structural problems
  • A total loss of heating in winter for elderly people and households with children under five years old
  • Security following a break-in
  • Health and safety repairs.

Urgent repairs

We aim to complete urgent repairs within seven days. Examples of urgent repairs are:

  • Repairs to heating and hot water
  • Repairs to plumbing and drainage
  • Carpentry repairs
  • Minor leaks
  • Electrical repairs.

Less urgent repairs

We aim to complete less urgent repairs within four weeks. Examples of less urgent repairs are:

  • Guttering repairs
  • Wall and fence repairs
  • Minor internal and external faults.

Your feedback

Your feedback helps us to monitor contract performance and the quality of our repairs. Here's how we collect feedback about our repairs service:

Homeowners: If you've reported a repair to your PMO you'll be sent a text message once the repair has been completed. You'll be asked to complete a short survey so that we can gauge your satisfaction with the repair.

Tenants: You should get a call from your housing officer when a repair is complete to check that you are satisfied. We also survey a random selection of 200 residents every month about their wider experience of living in one of our properties.