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Repairs, gas servicing and cyclical decorations

We are responsible for keeping the structure and exterior of your property in a good state of repair. We will repair:

  • external walls of your property, doors, window frames and cills;
  • leaks or blockages in drains, gutters and external pipework;
  • any defects in the systems that supply water, gas, electricity and sanitation to your home;
  • any faults to your heating or hot water system;

We will also carry out a periodic electrical safety check; this is normally every 5 years. If you need the repair because of damage you have caused, we will charge you for the cost of doing the repair.

You must:

  • take care of your home and any fixtures or fittings we have supplied;
  • keep the property in a clean condition and the internal decoration in good order;
  • allow us reasonable access to carry out repairs, annual gas services and electrical safety checks;
  • repair some items inside your property if they fail, even if this is due to wear and tear

Repairs you are responsible for include:

  • internal doors;
  • internal fittings including skirting boards, architraves around doors and windows, bath panels, toilet seats, plugs and chains in sinks and baths, curtain rails and pelmets;
  • internal decoration;
  • repairing doors and drawers of kitchen units;
  • letterboxes;
  • replacing light bulbs and fuses;
  • replacing tap washers and plumbing installed for washing machines and dishwashers;
  • any repair relating to an improvement you have made yourself, for example if you have fitted a new kitchen that now needs repairing;
  • changing locks if you have lost the keys.

You can report a repair in a number of ways:

  • By telephone – between 8.30am and 5pm, Monday to Friday, dial our Freephone number, 0800 587 3595.
  • If you need an emergency repair outside these hours, you can ring our out-of-hours emergency number, 0800 587 3595. This service is for emergency repairs only, which cannot wait until normal working hours, in most circumstances we will only make the problem safe out of hours and return to carry out a temporary repair during working hours;
  • Online – you can report repairs online
  • In person – you can call into either of our offices between 8.30am and 5pm, Monday to Friday;
  • By letter (non-emergencies only) – you can write to us at our Colebrooke Place office
  • Repairs are booked for an AM appointment between  8:30-1pm or a PM appointment between 12-5:30
Reporting emergency repairs out of office hours

After 5pm all emergency repairs go through to our emergency call-out centre. The emergency call-out centre will take details of the emergency repair and then ask for appointed contractors to do what is needed to make the property safe. All other repair work needed after the property has been made safe will be dealt with within the usual timescales, listed below.

When you report a repair, we need to know:

  • your name (in the form you would like us to use).
  • your full address.
  • a contact telephone number .
  • when it would be most convenient for us to visit
  • any special needs you have, for example if you are hard of hearing or can’t answer the door quickly.

When you report a repair:

  • We will tell you the day we can carry out your repair and whether we will come in the morning or afternoon
  • We will give you a reference number in case you need to contact us again about the repair.
  • We will allocate the repair an appropriate time scale, depending on the work needed.
  • We have agreed time scales for completing repairs in our contract with the Council.
  • We will aim to complete the repair within the relevant time scale
  • When we have completed the repair, the staff member will leave a card asking for your comments on how well they did the job. Please send the card back to us as this helps us improve our service
We have three time scales for repairs:
  • Emergency Repairs – An emergency is a problem that could endanger the health and safety of anyone living in your home if we don’t put it right. We will complete the work within one working day.
  • Urgent Repairs – Urgent repairs are those that are needed to allow you to live in your home in comfort, for example a blocked bath or sink. We will complete an urgent repair within 3 to 7 working days.
  • Routine Repairs – All other repairs are classified as routine, for example making good plastering on a wall. We will complete a routine repair within 25 to 28 working days.
Major Repairs

On occasion we will be unable to complete a repair, because the problem is beyond economical repair or requires replacement. Should this be the case, the repairs operative will complete a temporary repair and refer the issue to the Major Repairs Team.

We aim to complete all major repairs within 12 weeks of our first inspection. However, if there are leaseholders in the block we may need to consult them first.

Gas servicing

Each year, we will check the safety of any gas appliances that we or Islington Council have supplied. We won’t check any gas appliances that you have fitted yourself, but if we feel these appliances are dangerous we must disconnect them.

This gas safety check is very important as defective gas appliances can kill without warning. We will give you reasonable notice that we need to come in. If you don’t let us in when we ask, we will try to sort this out speedily. If it becomes necessary we may take court action against you.

Cyclical Decorations

Over the life of our contract, we will carry out cyclical decorations to your home. When we do, scaffolding will be erected to the front and back of your home to provide access for the external decoration. During this time, the security of your home will be your responsibility. To support you with this, we will advise you to inform your insurers of the scaffolding. Once the scaffolding has been erected, there will be a period of 3-4 weeks where no works will take place. During this time a number of surveys will be carried out to understand exactly what works need to be done. Scaffolding will be in place for approximately 12 weeks, weather permitting and depending on access.

Following these surveys, works can commence.

We will paint and decorate the:

  • External parts of the building, including all previously painted areas;
  • External woodwork, including windows and front and rear entrance doors;
  • Railings and gates to the front of the property;
  • Previously painted steel staircases to rear gardens;