Report a repair

An emergency repair is one that:

• will threaten the health or safety of our residents or the wider public if it is not carried out immediately
• will seriously damage the property if it is not carried out immediately

Some examples of emergency repairs are:

• A heavy leak in your property where it is not possible to contain the water or it is leaking between floors or properties
• An electrical fault in your property which endangers health or life
• Complete electrical failure, or electrical failure in a kitchen or bathroom
• A fault which means that the only toilet in your property is not functioning
• A serious failure of heating or hot water in your property
• Serious sewage and drainage problems
• Where you're not able to secure your property or pay to have it secured. (There will be a charge for this.)

(Please note that this is not an exhaustive list.)

Other repairs should be considered non-emergency repairs.

There are two main ways for you to report a repair:

• The quickest way is to log on to My Account and report the repair yourself.
• Alternatively, you can call your housing officer or PMO between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday

When you report a repair, please give as much detail as possible (pictures can be really helpful) and be sure to leave contact details in case we need any more information. If you are reporting damage caused by a break-in, we will need the crime reference number that the police give you.

Reporting repairs for new build properties (sometimes referred to as defects) is done in the same way. 

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

• 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.

Domestic gas

If you have domestic gas heating or hot water (not part of a communal system) and your lease states we are responsible for it's repairs and maintenance, your property will have a gas contractor assigned that manages this. If you have any issues with your gas heating or hot water you need to report this to the contractor directly.

Your gas contractor depends on where you live:

• North region: Swale Heating
  
• South region: BSW Heating
• East region: Liberty Gas
• West region: Watret & Co

You can find their contact details on the links provided above. 

If you're having any trouble with the gas contractor, please let your housing officer/PMO know.

Communal gas

If you have a communal heating system, the area rules stated for domestic gas do not apply so you need to contact your housing officer/PMO who will be able to let you know who the gas contractor is.

As this is the first time our new homes have been lived in, some repairs issues may come up that we need to pursue with the builder rather than through our repairs services.

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, if you're a homeowner 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.

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.

If you're a tenant, you can select your own appointment when you report your repair via My Account. These are morning or afternoon appointments for Monday to Friday, or (where possible) Saturday. This is when we expect the contractor to arrive on site, not necessarily when the work will be completed. You can request the operative to avoid the school run, but this won't always be possible.

We try to keep all agreed appointments, but if for some reason we need to change your appointment, we will try to 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.

Emergency repairs: We aim to attend to the repair within 4 hours of it being raised, with the works being completed within 24 hours.

Routine repairs: We aim to complete the works within 20 working days of it being reported.

Complex repairs: These may take longer than 20 days to complete but you will be consulted and kept informed about the work and timeframes.