Repairs and maintenance

Who is responsible for repairs?

We are responsible for keeping the shared areas of your block in good condition. This means we will look after the structure of the building and the landings and hallways (including lighting and lighting and controlled door-entry systems).

Repairs we are responsible for include the following.

Structure

• Roofs, drains, gutters and pipes on the outside of your home

• Outside entrance doors (but not the front doors of individual flats)

• Window frames and sills (not including glass)

• Outside paintwork

• Paths and steps (back and front)

• Chimneys and chimney stacks

• Stairs, landings and lifts

• Garages and outbuildings, including drying areas

Installations, fixtures and fittings

• Shared water pipes, water tanks, gas pipes and electrical wiring

• Light fittings in shared areas

• Controlled door-entry systems

• Decoration in shared areas

• Shared TV aerials

Repairs you are responsible for include the following.

• All repairs to the inside of your flat, including your front door, glass in your windows and all fixtures and fittings

• Any damage to the shared parts and services caused by you, members of your household or your visitors

• Chimney sweeping

• Radiators and radiator valves

• Individual boiler systems inside the property

Heating systems

Testing and servicing individual systems

Our contracts to service and maintain individual domestic central heating and hot water do not cover leasehold properties. So it is important that you test and service your gas boilers and appliances every 12 months. If you let your property you have a duty by law to make sure the gas boilers and appliances are checked every year.

If you have any problems with gas appliances, you should contact Gas Safe registered contractor. You can find them listed in the Yellow Pages or on the Gas Safe website (www.gassafe.com).

District heating systems

If a district heating system or a central boiler supplies your heating and hot water, we will maintain it. This means we will maintain the boiler and outside pipework but not the equipment or systems in your flat.

To report gas leaks, please phone National Grid on 0800 111 999.

Electrical heating

If you have a problem with an electrical heating system, you should contact a suitably qualified contractor (such as one who is NICEIC registered). You can also find them in the Yellow Pages or on the NICEIC website (www.niceic.org.uk).

Reporting a repair

To report a repair (which will likely be a repair for a shared area), contact the Customer Contact Centre on 0800 035 1991 or report a repair from our website.

Emergency access to your property

If the contractor cannot get into to repair a fault that is seriously affecting another property, we will arrange for our officers to (and in some cases the police) to be there when the contractor forces their way in.

We will leave your property secure and leave a notice on the door explaining that we had to force our way in to carry out an emergency repair. You will also receive a bill for the repairs and the cost of changing the lock, and you must pay this within 28 days.

Compensation if we do not keep to appointments

If the contractor fails to keep an appointment, you should tell the repairs team on 0800 0351991 within two working days of the date of the appointment. We will make a new appointment and issue you with a missed appointments claim form. The standard compensation we pay for a missed appointment is £10.

If you miss an appointment

When the contractor visits your property to carry out a repair and there is no answer, they will leave a calling card asking you to contact them within five working days to arrange a new appointment. If you do not contact them, we will cancel this job and may charge you for missing the appointment.