What is a responsive repair?
'Responsive repair' is a term used to describe small-scale day-to-day repairs, rather than repairs that are planned or included in longer-term investment programmes. It covers the repairs that are needed to fix defects and should be carried out within a maximum of 20 working days.
Our aims and objectives
Our aims are to:
- Deliver a value for money responsive repairs service that meets the needs of our tenants
- Comply with all relevant legislative and regulatory requirements and meet our contractual and legal obligations
- Ensure that we maintain a safe and secure environment
- Undertake only those repairs that are our responsibility.
Our objectives are to:
- Provide a reliable responsive service
- Ensure tenants know how to report a repair
- Achieve high standards of customer care and satisfaction
- Ensure all are aware of their responsibilities for repairs and the costs associated with these
- Carry out repairs in one visit where possible
- Achieve a high quality of completed work.
Who is responsible for repairs?
As the landlord we are responsible for keeping the structure and outside of the home in a good state of repair, including:
- External walls, external doors, external window frames and sills
- Drains and gutters
- Access paths and steps
- External decorations
- Outbuildings which form part of the original structure or have been provided previously by the landlord
- Repair and improvement to communal areas.
We are also responsible for keeping in repair and good working order:
- Installations for the supply of water, gas, electricity, and sanitation (the service up to, and including the gas and electrical meter, is the responsibility of the service provider, unless the mains supply outside the home is owned by the landlord)
- Installations for room and water heating fitted by the landlord
- Lifts, shared lighting serving the building or estate where these are not adopted by the council or in other private ownership
- Fences and gates which are our responsibility to maintain
- Floor covering that we have installed in kitchens, bathrooms, and toilets, where there is a potential trip hazard.
Our Tenancy Agreement sets out the contractual responsibilities for our tenants. We expect you to:
- Keep the inside of your home clean and in good condition
- Maintain your garden
- Keep communal areas clean and tidy and free from clutter
- Do all internal decorations
- Report repairs quickly to prevent on-going damage
- Meet the cost of repairs that are listed as your responsibility
- Provide access, in accordance with Tenancy Agreement conditions so that repairs can be undertaken in accordance with priority timescales set
- Treat your home with respect and care avoiding wilful damage and neglect.
Specific tenant related responsibilities include:
- Replacing internal doors, toilet seats, plugs/chains to sinks, and curtain rails and pelmets
- Plumbing to washing machines and dishwashers
- Minor repairs to doors and drawers to kitchen units
- Renewal of letter boxes
- Items that you or your family/visitors have damaged
- Repairs to your own improvements (after receiving permission)
- Replacing light bulbs and fluorescent tubes (unless a sealed unit)
- Lock changes and replacing keys/fobs due to loss of keys
- Paths and patio repairs. (We will maintain paths only around the perimeter of the building and to any washing line installed by us)
- Monitoring the internal environment of the home to ensure that conditions do not arise which cause instances of condensation leading to mould growth and material decay
- To clear internal blockages to sinks, baths, showers, WCs, and gulley drains
- Repairs and maintenance to TV aerials (unless in a flat on a communal system), satellite dishes, telephones and their cabling and supply. Some homes have two TV points: a new one for access to digital TV and an old one no longer in use. It is your responsibility if you require both TV points to be operational
- Repairs to sheds and structures you have installed.
Please note that any damage to doors and windows caused by the tenant, whether accidental or otherwise, must be repaired at the cost of the tenant. We cannot recommend external contractors or organisations.
For details of who is responsible for what, see this complete list of repair & redecoration responsibilities.
Priorities
When prioritising repairs, specific related tenant issues will be considered as appropriate. Where vulnerability is a factor priority times will be altered accordingly.
Emergency repairs
An emergency is defined as something which could cause danger to someone’s health and safety or cause serious damage to the home. Emergency repairs will be carried out within 24 hours.
The operative on the emergency repair will usually make the situation safe to enable an urgent or routine repair to be undertaken at a later time or date.
A same-day emergency is:
- Total loss of electrics to the whole home or block
- Unsafe power – for example, sparks from electrics
- A total loss of mains water supply – our repairs contractor will provide drinking water until the mains water is reinstated
- An uncontainable leak – for example, a burst pipe, water tank, or any leak that is affecting electrics or could cause damage to the home
- A blocked toilet caused by the external drains – when there is only one toilet in the home. There will be a recharge if we find that the blockage is in an internal drain
- Fire, flood, or structural damage – your home will be made safe, and further repair work will then be scheduled if required
- Severe roof damage – for example, which makes your home unsafe or vulnerable to damage, or causes a risk to the public
- Unsecured home – for example, a broken ground floor window (this will be made safe and boarded if needed, further repair work will then be scheduled if required), or broken door locks. There will be a recharge if the damage was caused by a tenant.
A 24-hour emergency is:
- A blocked or overflowing sewage drain where Twenty11 are responsible
- A partial loss of electrical power or light – for example, cooker and fridge sockets or multiple lights not working. If only one socket is not working, this is an urgent job and not an emergency, unless the outlet is for a medical appliance.
- No hot water during winter months (between 31st October and 1st May) – for example, an immersion heater not working
- A partial loss of water– for example, no water to your bathroom, but water in your kitchen
- A loose or detached stair handrail, where there is a risk of injury to the public
- A rotten timber floor or stair tread, where there is a risk of injury to the public
- An unsecured external main door to a block – for example, hinges, handles or door closers damaged. This is a same-day emergency if the door could fall on someone.
Urgent repairs
If the repair seriously affects your comfort, it will be treated as an urgent repair. An urgent repair will be attended to within five working days.
An urgent repair is:
- Some lighting sockets or electrical fittings not working – if one out of five sockets in one room is not working, this is a routine repair and not an urgent one
- All heating not working
- A blocked or leaking drain that is not causing damage, where Twenty11 are responsible
- A blocked toilet caused by a blockage in an external drain, if there are other toilets in the home. If there is only one toilet, then this is a same-day emergency. There will be a recharge if we find that the blockage is in an internal drain
- A leak from a water pipe, tank or cistern that is not causing damage
- A leaking roof that is not causing immediate damage
- Damage to an external window causing the home to be unsecured. If the window is on the ground floor, this is a same-day emergency
- An overflow running onto a footpath. If this is in the winter months (between 31st October and 1st May) then it is a same-day emergency.
- Shower not working – unless you also have a bath, in which case this is a routine repair.
Routine repairs
A routine repair is any other repair to your home that is not listed above and is able to be booked within a sensible timescale. Routine repairs will be attended to within 20 working days.
