Repairs leaflet - Plymouth Community Homes

Repairs

Contents
Reporting your repair.......3
Repair categories .............5
All about your repairs ........9
Planning ahead ................18

Reporting your repair
How to report a repair
You can report a repair in a number of
different ways:
By phone
Call our dedicated Repairs Contact Centre
on 08082 306500. Itʼs free to call this
number from a landline but charges from
mobiles may vary. You can also use the
free courtesy phone at your housing
office.
A dedicated text line is available for deaf
people or those who are hard of hearing
on 07899 848886.
The Contact Centre opening hours are
7am – 5pm Monday to Friday. Outside
these hours, your call will be diverted to
our on-call service who will direct your
emergency repair to one of our on-call
repair operatives.
In person
Go to your local housing office or speak
to any Plymouth Community Homes
member of staff.
By letter
Write to:
Plumer House
Tailyour Road
Crownhill
Plymouth PL6 5HY
Via the internet
Visit our website:
www.plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk
and go to the Your Home section, then
the Repairs section, where you will find
further advice and an online reporting
tool.
At your tenantsʼ and residentsʼ
association
Attend any tenant involvement meeting
and raise your concern with Plymouth
Community Homes staff.
When you have reported your repair, you
will be given an appointment time that is
convenient to you.
PCH Service Information Centre
Please feel free to pop into our new
service information centre, where you
are welcome to discuss any repair with
the local staff or just to use the direct
dial phones to contact our Responsive
Repairs Centre.
We are situated:
16-18 Frankfort Gate
Plymouth PL1 1QD
3

Appointment times
Monday – Friday (excluding Bank Holidays):
Morning appointment .........................................8am to 1pm
Afternoon appointment.......................................1pm to 5pm
Avoid the school run appointment......................10am to 2.30pm
All-day appointment ...........................................8am to 5pm
By special arrangement, you can also make one of the following appointments:
Evenings ............................................................5pm to 8pm
Saturdays...........................................................9.30am to 12pm
If you miss an evening or Saturday appointment, you may be charged.
Emergencies
If you have an emergency during normal
working hours, please contact our Repairs
Contact Centre on 08082 306500.
Outside normal working hours including
Bank Holidays, please call our out-ofhours
service on 0800 917 9459.
A duty on-call officer will arrange to carry
out an emergency repair, if required, until
a full repair can be arranged. The repair
will be completed during normal working
hours.
What information do you need to
provide?
• Your name and address
• When you can provide access to your
home so an appointment can be made
that is convenient to yourself and our
operatives
• A daytime phone number and a mobile
phone number so that we can contact
you if we need to rearrange an
inspection or repair
• As much information about the repair
as possible so we can arrange for the
most suitable tradesperson to attend.
Please see the Repairs section on our
website –
www.plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk
– for more information.
How long will it take?
Although it is not always possible for us
to attend on the day that you report the
repair, we make sure that urgent work is
prioritised. We will carry out repairs within
the appropriate timescale according to
the urgency of the work (as set out in the
Repair Categories section on pages 5-8).
4

Repair categories
Emergency repairs
Emergency repairs are those needed to
avoid serious health or safety risks, or
serious structural damage. They also
include repairs to ensure your home is
secure.
We aim to respond to emergency repairs
within four hours, but we will guarantee to
be there within 24 hours. You will need to
provide access to your home if it is
required to undertake the repair.
Our emergency service is available 24
hours a day, 365 days a year. We make
sure emergency repairs are made safe
and, if possible, completed within 24
hours. After the repair has been made
safe, further less urgent work may be
carried out under a longer timescale.
Heating and hot water repairs
Loss of heating and hot water between 1
November and 30 April will be responded
to as urgent within one working day.
Loss of heating and hot water between 1
May and 31 October will be responded to
as an urgent repair within three working
days.
NB: If the severity of a repair is
exaggerated to get a quicker
response, the tenant may be charged
the cost of an emergency call-out.
For gas and heating breakdowns, we will
provide an out of hours emergency
service if there is:
• an elderly, disabled or otherwise
vulnerable person (such as a baby)
living in the property
• no other form of heat in the property
e.g. if a boiler fails and there is no gas
or electric fire in the property.
If your hot water fails, we will not respond
as an emergency unless there is a specific
health requirement.
If a boiler cannot be repaired, temporary
electric fan heaters will be provided.
5

Urgent repairs
Urgent repairs are those that, if not
repaired, will cause substantial discomfort
to the tenant and/or potential damage to
the property, but they are not a health and
safety risk. They include:
• partial loss of electrical power
• partial or disturbed supply of water
• partial loss of heating
• door entry phone not working
• leaking roof
• faulty extractor fan
• blocked sink, bath or basin
• water leak from pipes, tank or cistern
– in severe cases, this may be
classed as an emergency
• tap which cannot be turned on or off
• loose or detached banister or hand
rail
• rotten timber flooring or stair tread.
We will complete all urgent repairs within
three working days of the repair being
reported. During winter months we will
complete all heating and hot water repairs
within one working day. When you report
your repair, our Repairs Contact Centre
will give you an appointment time that is
convenient to you.
NB: If the severity of a repair is
exaggerated to get a quicker
response, the tenant may be charged
the cost of a call-out.
6

Routine repairs
Routine repairs include:
• general joinery repairs
• repairs to doors, windows and floors
• repairs to external walls, fences and
paths
• repairs to walls, brickwork, slates or
tiles
• repairs or clearing of gutters and
downpipes (weather depending)
• repairs to kitchen fittings
• repairs to plaster work
• dripping or leaking taps or shower
units
• other minor plumbing repairs
• repairs to tiling
• easing jammed or sticking windows
and doors
• other minor day-to-day repairs or
replacements.
Under safety regulations, we also have a
responsibility to maintain the following,
which are classed as routine repairs:
• water services from the meter or
outside stopcock
• the internal structure including walls,
ceilings and floors
• internal and external components
such as windows, doors, fitted
cupboards etc.
• fixtures and fittings provided by
Plymouth Community Homes
• any outbuilding that forms part of your
property and is owned by Plymouth
Community Homes
• original paths to main entrance doors
• communal areas in blocks of flats and
housing developments, or roads and
footpaths which belong to Plymouth
Community Homes.
We normally carry out routine repairs
within 20 working days. We will offer you
either a morning or an afternoon
appointment, an avoid-the-school run
appointment or an all-day appointment –
all of which will usually be on a weekday
(see page 4 for more information about
appointment times).
7

Planned repairs
Planned repairs will be carried out within
60 working days (12 weeks) of your
request unless they are classed as
programmed works under our ʻDecent
Homes improvement worksʼ. They are
larger repairs that are not urgent, and
may need to be planned outside the
timescales already described. For
planned repairs, we will appoint a repairs
supervisor to keep you informed of the
progress of the repair work.
Programmed work
Programmed work includes large
refurbishment works across many
properties such as the renewal of kitchens
and bathrooms, replacement of PVCu
windows and doors, heating installations,
electrical upgrades or rewiring, and home
insulation. Please see the Planning Ahead
section on page 18 for more details.
Typical planned repairs include:
• outside rendering
• fencing, gate and path repairs or the
manufacturing of replacement items
• internal plastering and redecorating
• sourcing and ordering of old or hard
to obtain materials to enable the
repair to be completed
• replacement of windows and doors.
8

All about your repairs
Appointments for repairs
When you report a routine repair, we will
generally give you a weekday morning or
afternoon appointment. We can also offer
appointment times to avoid the school
run, depending on how long your repair
will take.
Text message alerts
When you call the contact centre to book
in a repair, we will ask you if you would
like to receive texts about your
appointment. If you agree, we will send
you a text message to confirm the
appointment. We will also send a reminder
at 3pm the day before the appointment
and another text when the operative is
on their way, giving you their name and
trade. After the work has been carried
out, we will text you to ask if you were
happy with the service provided.
By using this service you will receive
automated texts to make sure you are
aware of your appointment times and
when our operative is on his way to you.
Appointments can also be made for
selected evenings up to 8pm and for
Saturdays between 9.30am and 12pm.
However, if you do not keep evening or
Saturday appointments, we may charge
you for them. These appointment times
are only for minor repairs that can be
completed in one visit.
If you are out at the time of your
appointment, our operative will leave you
a card advising you that the job has been
cancelled and you will need to make a
new appointment.
Depending on the type of repair reported,
we might need to send a supervisor to
carry out a pre-inspection to confirm what
kind of repair is required.
When you report a repair, we will advise
you about its priority in line with our
repairs policy. We will make every effort
to carry out your repair within the given
timescale.
9

No Access
If on arrival at the premises, the
contractor supervisor or operative finds
that you are out, a notification/calling
card is left advising that the job will be
cancelled and you will need to make
another appointment. If the supervisor or
operative is not satisfied that the reported
fault or repair will cause further damage
to Plymouth Community Homesʼ property
or it is a Health and Safety risk, then the
job will be referred to the admin team to
attempt to make a further appointment.
Tenants will be recharged for items that
have been specifically purchased and
cannot be returned to the supplier or
specifically manufactured, in the event
that access cannot be gained to the
property after six months.
Missed appointments
Missed appointments are currently
wasting Plymouth Community Homes
£140,000 a year. If you are unable to keep
an appointment for whatever reason,
please contact the repairs contact centre
where an alternative appointment can be
made. Remember to register your mobile
number for text alerts.
Identification
All Plymouth Community Homes
employees and all our contractors carry
a photographic ID card which is available
on request. If they refuse to show you
their ID card or they do not have an ID
card, do not let them into your home.
Please inform the contact centre
immediately. If you require further security
measures or if you are a woman living
alone or you are elderly, please ask the
contact centre for a special code word
that only the repairs team will know when
they attend.
Smoking
Second-hand smoke or passive smoking
is harmful to peopleʼs health. As a
responsible employer, we have a duty of
care to protect the health of our
employees. Therefore, we ask you to do
everything possible to keep your home
free from smoke when we visit you.
Female operatives
If you are a female tenant and would
prefer a female operative to attend,
please inform the Repairs Contact Centre
at the time of reporting the repair, and
we will make every effort to help. If a
female operative is not available, we can
arrange for a female member of staff to
accompany the operative.
10

Young people
Our operatives and contractors will not
carry out any repairs if the only person at
home when they arrive is a child under
the age of 16. They will leave a card
advising you that the repair has been
cancelled and that you will need to make
a new appointment.
Response times
Plymouth Community Homes sets time
limits for different types of repairs (see
the Repairs Categories section on pages
5-8 for more details). We monitor the
performance of our employees and
contractors to ensure they meet these
time limits.
When you report your repair, you will be
advised how long it will take to complete
the repair. We will make every effort to
complete it within the timescale that we
have given. Our aim is to attend
promptly, maintain a safe environment
and complete the work as soon as is
practically possible.
Access to your home
In your tenancy agreement, you have
agreed to allow Plymouth Community
Homes staff or contractors to enter your
property to inspect, maintain and/or make
repairs. You may wish to provide your
housing office with an emergency
contact number (a mobile is best) or
contact details of a key holder to ensure
we can access your home if necessary.
Customer choice
Plymouth Community Homes is
committed to offering you choice in our
repairs and improvements service,
wherever reasonably possible. However,
when we carry out responsive repairs,
we normally replace fixtures and fittings
on a like-for-like basis.
We also take into account your
circumstances and needs when we
decide on a response time for the repair.
We will carry out repairs more quickly
where:
• your sense of security is affected
• your mobility is affected
• the health and safety of young
children is affected
• in some cases, your home would be
without heating in winter.
11

The service you can expect from us:
1. We will keep your home in good condition. We will repair and
maintain:
• the structure and exterior of the building – roofs, walls, floors,
ceilings, window frames, external doors, drains, gutters, outside
pipes
• kitchen and bathroom fixtures – basins, sinks, toilets, baths
• electrical wiring and gas and water pipes
• heating equipment and water heating equipment
• any communal areas around your home – stairs, lifts, landings,
lighting, entrance halls, paving, shared gardens, parking areas
and rubbish chutes.
2. We will maintain external paintwork at regular intervals.
3. We will complete repairs in a reasonable time. When you report a
repair, we will tell you when we will complete the work by (this
depends on how urgent it is) and if it will need to be inspected.
4. We will clear up after a repair and leave your decoration as close
as possible to how it was before the repair was done. However, if
redecoration is necessary, we may offer you a voucher to pay for it.
5. We will send you written confirmation of the repair appointment that
has been made unless the work is an emergency or the appointment
is within five days of the repair being reported.
6. We will send you a confirmation text of your appointment, text you
at 3pm the day before your appointment and remind you once
again when the tradesperson is on their way, and let you know his
or her name.
7. Tenants have the right to get repairs done on time and within the
timescales set out on pages 5 to 8. However, if you want to agree
a repair outside these timescales, you are entitled to do so.
8. When carrying out gas safety checks in homes, Plymouth Community
Homes will disconnect any unsafe gas appliances.
12

Repairs which are your responsibility (these are general repairs which are not
covered by Plymouth Community Homes):
• Alteration of doors after new carpets
have been fitted.
• All appliances, fixtures, fittings,
extensions and additions that have
been installed by you with or without
our permission unless they have been
formally adopted by Plymouth
Community Homes.
• Replacement of lost or damaged door
and window keys, including the cost
of breaking in and associated repairs,
and the replacement of locks and
duplicate keys.
• Filling small cracks in the plaster.
• Replacing without delay any cracked
or broken glass unless the breakage
can be shown to be due to structural
or constructional causes, or criminal
damage, and caused by someone
other than yourself or members of your
family.
• The repair and replacement of TV
aerials or satellite dishes (unless
communal), and any damage to
property or neighbouring property
caused by their installation.
• All cat flaps fitted in either wooden or
uPVC doors including new replacement
uPVC doors or fire doors.
• The plumbing in of domestic
appliances and any faults that
subsequently arise with this plumbing.
• The repair and replacement of toilet
seats and lids unless the tenant is
disabled.
• The replacement of light bulbs and
fluorescent tubes.
• The replacement of bath, basin and
sink plugs.
• The repair or replacement of your own
shed, porch, conservatory or other
external addition.
• Any internal decorations, which should
be in good order when you leave the
property.
• All repairs required when vacating the
property.
• Sweeping of chimneys.
• Any damage to the property caused by
fire or flood that results from neglect
to the property by a tenant or family
member.
• The lifting of all foam-backed carpets
and/or laminated wood flooring to gain
access to carry out a repair.
• The repair or replacement of anything
belonging to Plymouth Community
Homes which is damaged or made
defective through your action or
neglect, or that of your visitors or
anyone living with you. For example,
drains blocked by kitchen waste,
external gully grids blocked by leaves
and debris, or damage caused by your
appliances such as cookers.
NB: You should consider very carefully
the amount of contents insurance
you have.
13

Problems with repairs
Most repairs are completed within the
timescale given according to the urgency
of your repair. However, if the operative or
contractor does not attend as promised,
please call our contact centre and let
them know. Your appointed supervisor
will do their best to arrange for the work
to be completed within a reasonable
timescale.
If you are not satisfied with any aspect of
the repair work, or the attitude of the
operative or contractor, please call the
contact centre. We are here to sort out
any problems for you.
If an operative or contractor calls and
you are not at home, he will leave a card
saying, ʻSorry I missed youʼ. If you receive
one of these, please call the contact
centre straight away to enable us to make
an alternative appointment as your job
will be cancelled otherwise.
Customer satisfaction
We aim to deliver a high standard of
service to our customers and, therefore,
we continually monitor customer
satisfaction with repairs. When a repair is
completed, our Repairs Contact Centre
will either contact you by phone or send
you a survey form on the back of a letter.
If you tell us you are dissatisfied with any
aspect of our service, we will arrange an
appointment for a supervisor to visit you to
identify and arrange for any outstanding
problems to be resolved.
Plymouth Community Homes regularly
measures levels of customer satisfaction
and is benchmarked against other
housing associations throughout the UK.
14

Complaints and feedback
If you are not happy with a repair, please
let the contact centre know. We are also
pleased to pass on any positive feedback
to staff. If you want to make a formal
complaint, please refer to the viewpoints
leaflet in your tenantsʼ handbook or go to
our website:
www.plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk.
Rechargeable repairs
Under the terms of your tenancy
agreement, you have a responsibility to
look after your home. In certain
circumstances, Plymouth Community
Homes will give you 28 days to remedy
a problem or repair to an acceptable
standard. If you fail to do so, we will
carry out the work and recharge you for
the costs of that repair. This includes:
• a repair that is required due to
deliberate damage or neglect
• failure to carry out a repair that you
are responsible for
• alterations that have been carried out
by you without prior permission.
NB: If you exaggerate the severity of a
repair to get a quicker response,
you may be charged the cost of a
call-out.
In certain cases, where accidental
damage occurs, tenants may be able to
claim on their home contents insurance
policy (a low-cost scheme is operated by
Plymouth Community Homes). See the
Home Contents Insurance Scheme
leaflet for more information.
If we do have to complete a repair that
we then charge you for, we will issue an
invoice on completion. If you are unable
to pay the cost in full, you will need to
contact your housing office to agree a
payment plan.
15

Repairs and maintenance service standards:
• We will provide a 24-hour emergency response repairs service to
all our tenants, 365 days a year.
• You may report your repairs by telephone via our Repairs Contact
Centre, by post, in person at the housing office or via our website
– www.plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk.
• All employees and contractors must follow our customer care
policy and comply with our code of conduct. We and our
contractors will introduce ourselves and show proof of ID.
• We will not continue to enter the property if only a child under the
age of 16 is at home.
• Our repairs service will, as a minimum, comply with all the
requirements of the law.
• When we have to inspect a repair after completion, we will let you
know and will make the inspection within ten working days.
• We will complete emergency repairs within 24 hours.
• Loss of heating and hot water between 1 November and 30 April
will be responded to as an urgent repair within one working day.
• We will respond to all other urgent repairs within three working
days.
• We will respond to all routine repairs within 20 working days.
• We will complete larger repairs within 60 working days, and
appoint a repairs supervisor to monitor the situation and keep
you informed.
16

• We offer an appointment system for emergency, urgent and routine
repairs and, when required, for pre-inspections and post-repair
quality inspections.
• If we can’t attend the allocated appointment time, we will let you
know.
• If you are out when we call to make the repair, we will leave you
a calling card.
• If you suspect a gas leak or leakage of fumes, contact the National
Gas Emergency Service first on 0800 111 999 then inform our
contact centre.
• We will notify you about your annual gas service at least five days
in advance.
• When we have finished a repair, we will leave your home as clean
and tidy as when we arrived.
• We will carry out customer satisfaction surveys and learn from the
feedback so we can improve our repairs service.
• If we or any of our contractors damage your home or possessions,
you will be compensated for the damage or loss in line with our
tenants’ compensation and payment policy.
• We will acknowledge any complaint within two working days and
provide a full response within ten working days.
17

Planning ahead
Planned maintenance and
improvements
Repair work that is carried out to keep
properties in good order, or to replace old
fixtures and fittings, is carried out as part
of a planned programme to make it more
cost effective.
Examples of this work may include:
• external repairs prior to a painting
contract
• heating installation or upgrade
• insulation to properties
• window and door replacement
• electrical rewiring.
For very small adaptations, you can
now request them directly through
PCHʼs On Demand Service by calling
0800 988 7344.
For more information about adaptations,
please visit our website:
www.plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk
or call our Housing Choices team on
0800 694 3101.
When you report a repair that is
scheduled to be carried out as part of a
planned programme, our contact centre
will advise you when it will take place.
Before we start work, we will write to you
with details of the work and the contractor,
and who to contact for further information.
Adaptations for elderly and disabled
tenants
In special circumstances, we can adapt
a property to help elderly or physically
disabled tenants live independently in
their homes.
Adaptations can include:
• a level access shower unit
• a stair lift
• external ramps
• a door entry system
• grab rails
• external handrails
• bath and shower seats and stools.
18

Translations
This guide is available in large print, Braille,
alternative languages and as a recording.
If you wish to arrange for an alternative version,
please call the Repairs Contact Centre on 0808 230 6500.
19

Plymouth Community Homes
Princess Court
23 Princess Street
Plymouth PL1 2EX
Telephone: 0800 694 3101
Email: info@plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk
Web: www.plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk
REPAIRS FREEPHONE 0808 230 6500
A charitable industrial and provident society. Registration Number 30637R