Tenants Handbook 4 Repairs and MaintenanceTenants Handbook 4Repairs and Maintenance

Repairs and Maintenance

Contents

Residents’ duties and responsibilities

Our repairing responsibilities

Your Right to Repair

Repair timescales

Priorities for repair

Access

Rechargeable repairs

Be safe and secure

Tenants Handbook 4

Condensation

Asbestos

Gas servicing and the annual safety check

Your improvements and alterations

Condensation AdviceMost of the damp and mould problems reported to us are related to condensation. This occurs mostly during cold weather spells, regardless of whether it is raining or not. Condensation will encourage black mould on cold surfaces and in places where there is little movement of air. We will check that there is no water leaking into the property, but if nothing is found you must manage the condensation.

Produce less moistureCover cooking pans and avoid kettles boiling for longer than necessary

Dry your laundry outdoors, or hang it in the bathroom with the door closed and a window open, or use an extractor fan

Vent any tumble dryer to the outside of your home

Ventilate to remove moistureYou can ventilate your home without creating draughts:

Keep small windows or a ventilator open when someone is in the room

Ventilate kitchens and bathrooms when in use by opening windows

Close kitchen/bathroom doors when rooms are in use (even if you have an extractor fan)

Ventilate cupboards and wardrobes – overfilling them prevents air from circulating. Keep a gap between the wall and furniture so that air can circulate

Asbestos Call the Customer Service Centre if you suspect you have found asbestos, details are in the General Information Section

Report any damage or vandalism to your home immediately. Exposure to asbestos over a period of time can pose a danger to you and your neighbours

Please be patient as we work to identify asbestos risks and make them safe, particularly when we are carrying out repairs to your home

Gas Servicing and annual safety checkIt is a legal requirement that we carry out an annual gas safety inspection in your home. We employ a Gas Safe registered sub-contractor to check and service gas appliances. Unsafe gas appliances can create a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning and it is critical we service your gas heating appliances once every year to ensure this risk does not occur.

Please remember that unsafe gas appliances can kill.

The Council’ s sub-contractor will contact you to arrange a convenient appointment. You MUST comply with this annual safety check so please co-operate with access arrangements to enable the check to take place.

If the sub-contractor is unable to gain access to your home, we will be informed and will write to you. This may lead to legal action against you to provide access and if we have to force entry to your property to service the gas appliances, you will be charged the costs along with an administration fee.

Your improvements and alterationsAll residents with a secured tenancy have the right to carry out minor alterations and improvements to their homes, but you must gain permission from the council before doing so, either inside or outside of your home. This must be requested in writing, setting out clearly what your intentions are and you will receive a written response either allowing or denying you permission to proceed.

Some alterations also require applications for planning permission and/or building control approval, which can involve additional costs which you will also be responsible for. You have to apply separately to the relevant authorities for these permissions.

If you do carry out work without permission, we have the legal right to make you put the property back to how if was prior to your alterations.

HSG/TH/JULY20128

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Residents’ duties and responsibilities – What you have to put right if it goes wrongUnder the terms of the Housing Act 1988, unless you have recognised special needs, you are responsible for, and have to pay the cost of, repairing the following items. These are your responsibility (unless where relevant, the damage is due to the fair wear and tear of the fitting or appliance).

Front and back door locks, including replacing keys

Internal doors, locks, hinges and handles

Letterboxes, door numbers, security chains and doorbells

Window catches and stays

Replacing or repairing damaged kitchen units, including worktops, cupboard doors, shelves and handles

Carpentry

Toilet seats and covers

Plugs and chains in baths, basins and sinks

Cleaning stains on sinks, baths, showers and toilets and blockages within the property’s system

Replacing broken or damaged sinks, baths, showers and toilets

Clearing external gullies

Plumbing

Broken outside windows, unless you have a police crime reference number for them. Remember that false reporting of a crime is an offence and the police will investigate all reports of burglary

Broken internal windows

Glass panels in interior doors

Glazing

Surface cracks to wall and ceiling plaster

Ceramic tiles on splash backs around sinks, basins and baths

Vinyl floor tiles

Plastering and finishes

We need access:

For gas safety inspections

To check the condition of a home or those next to it

To repair, alter or improve the home or those next to it. This includes electrical wiring, gas and water pipes or drainage and heating systems

To check fire detection devices and the condition of front fire doors (where appropriate)

If we have to force entry to a home, we will leave it secure. If we force entry because of your negligence, for example if you overfill your bath and flood the property below, we will charge the cost to you.

Rechargeable repairsWe are committed both to providing a cost effective repairs and maintenance service and to meeting our obligations as a landlord. We will therefore charge you for any work we do for which you are responsible, or which is caused by you misusing your home or not looking after it.

Our charges are based on what it costs for our contractors to do the work and are subject to an administration charge.

We charge for repairs if:

Work is needed due to accidental damage or wilful neglect by you, members of your household or visitors to your home

We do work for which we have no responsibility under the law or your tenancy conditions

We have to force entry to your home due to your negligence, for example if you lose your keys

We have to repair a property after you move out because you damaged it or have made alterations that we did not approve

We will tell you as soon as possible if a repair is rechargeable.

You may get the opportunity to do the work yourself or arrange for it to be carried out at your own expense. However, we will want to inspect the work

once it is done to check that it meets an acceptable standard.

If you are doing a mutual exchange, we may suspend it to ensure work is done before you can leave the property.

Examples of what we might consider to be deliberate damage or wilful neglect include:

Holes or other damage to internal doors

Damage to kitchen units and worktops other than fair wear and tear

Blocked drains, toilets, baths, basins and sinks where the blockage is caused by misuse

Damage to toilet seats and hinges

If you have made alterations or improvements without our agreement and they are found to be unsafe, we will arrange for them to be made safe immediately and you will be charged for this work. This will be confirmed in writing.

If you have returned your keys and we need to do work to bring the property to a safe and acceptable standard before the new resident moves in, we will charge you for this as a former resident.

If damage has been caused by a crime, you must report the incident to the police first. Then you need to report the repair to us and tell us the crime reference number. False reporting of crime, such as saying that damage was caused by a crime when it wasn’t is an offence. The police will investigate all reports of burglary.

Be Safe and secureIdentity cards

You should not let anyone into your home unless you are satisfied they are who they say they are.

All staff and contractors employed by Gravesham Borough Council carry identification.

If you are ever unsure about the identity of Gravesham Borough Council staff or contractors, ask them to call back later and call us for confirmation. If you send a contractor away, please contact customer services to let us know immediately, the details are in the General Information Section.

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Electrical plugs, including fuses

Changing light bulbs and fluorescent tubes

Domestic appliances, such as fridges and cookers (it is advisable for you to cover these with your home contents insurance)

Electrical

We are not responsible for damage to , or loss of, your fixtures and fittings including

Furniture, Carpets

Clothing

Domestic appliances

Other household effects, even if linked to a repair that we are responsible for.

We strongly recommend you take out home contents insurance. To help you, we offer a home contents insurance scheme. Contact the Housing Income Team whose details are in the General Information Section.

Insurance cover

It is your responsibility to keep the inside of your home in good decorative order. When you move out, you must leave it in good condition

Interior decoration

Faults on gas cookers or cooker connections

If you smell gas or suspect there is s a gas leak, you MUST report it immediately to SGN on 0800 111 999

If you consider using a living room as a bedroom, even temporarily, you MUST consult your Housing Officer and obtain their permission BEFORE doing this as some living rooms have gas boilers in them

Gas

If a repair is needed because of damage caused by you, by a member of your family or by your visitors, it is your responsibility to put it right. You may either do the repair yourself or pay for someone else to do it. If we do the repair on your behalf, you wil be charged for it and we will usually ask for payment first

In general

Schedule (working days)

Defect Response time

Total loss of electric power 1

Unsafe power or lighting socket, or electrical fitting

1

Total loss of water supply 1

Leaking from water or heating pipe, tank or cistern

1

Total or partial loss of gas supply 1

Blocked flue to open fire or boiler 1

Total or partial loss of space or water heating (between 31 October and 1 May)

1

Blocked or leaking foul drain, soil stack(where there is no other toilet in the dwelling house)

1

Toilet not flushing (where there is no other working

toilet in the dwelling house)

1

Insecure external window, door or lock 1

Partial loss of electrical power 3

Partial loss of water supply 3

Total or partial loss of space or water heating (between 30 April and 1 November)

3

Blocked sink, bath or basin 3

Tap which cannot be turned 3

Loose or detached banister or hand rail 3

Rotten timber flooring or stair tread 3

Leaking roof 7

Door entry phone not working 7

Qualifying repairs and response time for completion

Repair timescalesWe prioritise repairs based on how urgent they are. We would like to do all repairs straight away, but it can make better financial sense if we have longer to do the less urgent ones. This includes repairs that fall under Right to Repair regulations.

Priorities for repairThe following table shows the priority that we give to the repairs that we are responsible for.

Please note that not all emergency repairs qualify as Right To Repair, only those identified under the regulation and even if a repair is considered to be an emergency, if it is your responsibility to do it, then you will still have to pay for it.

If you suspect that damage is a result of racial harassment or domestic violence, please always call the police.

If a repair is needed because of damage caused by you, your family or your visitors, it is your responsibility to put it right. You may either do the repair yourself or pay for someone else to do it.

Priority

The Contractor will:

1 Emergency Repair(out of hours)

attend within four hours to make safe.

1 Emergency Repair (daytime)

aim to complete the repair within 24 hours and prioritise within this timescale where there is real danger.

2 Urgent Repair Complete within three days. (3 days)

3 Essential Repair Complete within seven days. (7 days)

4 General Less Urgent Repair

Complete within ten days. (10 days

5 General Non Urgent Repair

Complete within twenty eight days. (28 days)

Access We have the right to enter our properties by agreement at all reasonable hours. This applies to Gravesham Borough Council staff or other authorised people, such as our contractors. You must let us in if we ask you to.

If necessary we can arrange to force entry to carry out an emergency repair or safety check and recover the cost of doing this from you. You must report repairs that need doing immediately and allow us access to your home quickly when we ask.

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Our Repairing Obligations – What Gravesham Borough Council has to put right if it goes wrong

We repair and maintain the appliances we have installed to provide heat and hot water. We do an annual gas safety inspection of all gas heating and hot water installations and appliances. (Please note Gravesham Borough Council is not responsible for residents’ own appliances)

Heating and Water

We are responsible for the gas supply pipe from the gas meter to the appliances it serves. (However, we do not have to install a gas supply if there is a reasonable alternative, such as electricity).

We are not responsible for:

Faults on cookers or cooker connections

The failure of gas companies to supply gas

Gas Supply

We are responsible for the electricity supply cable between the meter and the electrical sockets in your home.

However, we are not responsible for:

Faults on cookers or cooker connections (excluding the control unit)

Faults on other domestic electrical appliances, such as kettles and fridges

The failure of electricity companies to supply electricity or maintain their equipment

Electricity supply

We are responsible for the water supply distribution pipe work from the water company main supply pipe to the internal property supply points which you connect to appliances and fittings that use water inside your home

Water supply

We are responsible for maintaining the structure of the building. This includes:

Roof and roof tiles

Boundary walls and fences

Door entry systems

Lifts

Building structure

We are responsible for a repair if it is to a fitting or appliance that we have previously installed, or if it is a repair to the structure of the building. (However, we are not responsible for repairs caused by misuse or neglect of the property by residents and residents’ visitors to the property. For more information, please refer to the section on rechargeable repairs).

In general

Right To RepairAs part of the Citizen’s Charter, a Right to Repair scheme was introduced for council tenants from 1 April 1994. The scheme enables certain small urgent repairs which might affect your health, safety or security to be done quickly and easily. Councils are obliged by law to carry out these repairs within a certain time, but it applies only to repairs that the council is responsible for and which cost under £250.

Right to Repair does not apply if you, or a member of your household, or a visitor caused the damage while doing something in your home that broke your tenancy conditions.