Rent, Buy or Own
Repairs and maintenance
We have obligations regarding maintenance and repairs, and so do you. If something at your house needs urgent attention - such as a blocked drain - call 0800 801 601 anytime.
Our responsibilities:
We will:
- make sure your home is clean and tidy when you move in
- keep your home in good structural condition - we have an ongoing maintenance programme for all our properties
- do any urgent repairs as quickly as possible
- check that your smoke detectors work
- repair normal wear and tear as soon as possible.
Your responsibilities:
You need to keep your home in good condition and call us as soon as you can about any damage. You also need to pay for any damage caused, such as:
- burns, stains, marks and scratches
- accidents, such as broken windows
- damage from building or repair work you have done
- forced entry or vandalism that you may have caused.
If you lose your keys or lock yourself out you can either arrange a locksmith yourself or call us and we'll arrange a new key for you. You will need to pay for this as we don't have spare keys.
General repairs:
Call us if your home needs repairs. If the work isn't urgent we'll get a contractor to size the job within 10 working days. They may decide that:
- the job needs to be done as soon as possible
- the job becomes part of our planned maintenance programme, when we do the same kind of work across a number of houses, like painting six homes in one neighbourhood.
Urgent repairs:
Urgent repairs are problems that affect your health and safety. We'll fix these within four hours, wherever possible. Urgent repairs can include:
- blocked drains, toilet or sewage problems
- gas leaks or bad water leaks
- no power or hot water
- electrical faults
- a stove-top not working.
Please note that you may be charged a call out fee if someone is not home to let the tradesman in.
Doing maintenance yourself:
You can do small repairs like tightening screws and changing light bulbs. You don't need to call us about these jobs unless you can't do them yourself or you don't have the right tools. If you want to do some maintenance around your home, talk with us first. We have standards that must be met and will check your work. If it doesn't meet our standards contractors may have to redo the work, which you might have to pay for.
Asbestos and lead-based paint:
Some of our older homes were built with asbestos products and/or painted using lead-based paint. Providing these products are in good condition, they're quite safe. Don't do these repairs yourself as we hire tradespeople who know how to work with these products safely.
Tradespeople in your home:
Contractors that work for us are bound by a Code of Conduct that requires them to:
- contact you to agree a time for the repairs to be done - unless the job is urgent in which case we would assume you would be home
- leave their name, address, phone number, date, time and reason for calling if you are not home when they call
- show you their identification before entering your home
- leave your home safe, clean and tidy at the end of every work day, and remove their rubbish
- respect your privacy and treat your home and possessions with care
- be appropriately dressed and polite to you at all times.
You can help by:
- being home at the agreed time or give us plenty of notice if you're not going to be home
- moving furniture and personal items that may be in the way
- keeping children and pets out of harm's way.
