Section 9 Who repairs what? Reporting repairs Repairs and maintenance Emergencies Repair response times Appointments Maintaining and improving your home What if Hastoe get it wrong? 34
Repairs and maintenance We are responsible for some of the repairs to your home, but there are some items for which you are responsible. The table below and overleaf is a guide to who is responsible for what. Remember that you have to pay for any damage caused to your home by your negligence or through any accidental or wilful damage by you or any visitors. You are also responsible for any damage or repairs that are required to any improvements that you have carried out to your home. Who repairs what? ITEM HASTOE TENANT EXCEPTIONS Boiler * Banister Baths Bin stores Brickwork internal and external When not built by Hastoe Carports When not built by Hastoe Ceilings Central heating system * Chimney sweeping annually Cisterns Coal bunkers Cookers 35
ITEM HASTOE TENANT EXCEPTIONS Communal areas to flats Curtain rails Damp proof courses Decoration, internal Doorbell (mains wired) Unless installed by tenants Doors to common area Doors/door fittings (external) Doors/door fittings (internal) Door locks Downpipes, rain and soil Drainage Any blockages caused (including blockages) by tenant Driveways Drying areas Electric heaters supplied by Hastoe Electric plugs Electric wiring, sockets and switches Entry systems Fences When not provided by Hastoe Fire grates and surrounds When not provided by Hastoe 36
ITEM HASTOE TENANT EXCEPTIONS Fireplace tiles Floor tiles When not provided by Hastoe Floor coverings including laminate Floorboards Fluorescent light tube Communal areas to flats Foundations Fuse board/fuses Fuse to plug Garages Gas piping Greenhouses Glass Unless crime reference number is supplied Handrails, external and internal Hatch to loft Immersion heaters Keys (replacement) Kitchen fittings and worktops Light bulbs Light pendants and roses 37
ITEM HASTOE TENANT EXCEPTIONS Outbuildings Timber sheds are the responsibility of the tenant Overflow pipes Painting, external Painting, internal Parking area Paths Plaster and plasterboard Small nicks or cracks/nail pops Porch Roof tiles/slates and roof-lights Ropes for sash and cord windows Ropes for clothes drying Communal drying areas Rotary clothes dryers Shower unit Where provided by Hastoe Sink drainer Damage caused by excess weight on the drainer Sink blockage Skirting boards Decoration is tenant s responsibility Smoke detectors (mains) Tenants to carry out with back up battery regular checks 38
ITEM HASTOE TENANT EXCEPTIONS Smoke detectors (battery) Stairs Stair-lighting Steps Taps Tap washers TV aerials, sockets and cables Waste plugs and chains Water heating (gas boiler)* Water heating (immersion or any other electric system) Water supply WC WC blockages WC seats Windows frames (not glazing) Windows, painting (external) Windows, painting (internal) * We appoint a specialist contractor to maintain and repair boilers and central heating systems on our behalf. 39
Reporting repairs To report a repair, contact Hastoe Direct on 0300 123 2250. To help us provide you with an efficient service, please have as much information as possible ready before you phone. You will be asked to describe the problem precisely. For example, if the toilet is leaking, please tell us if the leak is from the pipe at the back of the toilet, or from the cistern. Please also tell us when it will be convenient for the contractor to visit to inspect or carry out the repair. Please be as flexible as possible. Please tell us how we can contact you during the day. We will tell you which contractor will carry out the work, and when the repair is due to be completed. Emergencies Repairs are designated as emergency where there is either a risk to someone s life or a risk of serious injury if not repaired immediately, and repairs that cannot wait until the next morning. An emergency repair will be dealt with as quickly as possible. Hastoe expects that the tenant will remain in the property, if safe to do so and that access will be granted to approved contractors. The contractor who visits you may only do the minimum work necessary to make your home safe. This may mean that a follow-up visit is necessary on another day to finish the repair. If you call out a contractor for non-emergency repairs you may be recharged if those repairs are not deemed as emergency. Out of hours emergency number is for emergency repairs only. 40
Repair response times We attempt to carry out repairs as quickly as possible. Due to the wide range of repair requests we receive, we allocate them into categories, each with a different target time for response. We monitor how well we do in meeting these targets. Here is a guide as to how quickly we aim to complete your repair. Job Priority Target for Completion Example of Repair PRIORITY 1: Emergency make safe within 4 hours and respond to all emergencies within 24 hours. loss of heating or hot water serious water leaks blocked drain total loss of electricity electrical repairs where there is a danger of fire or injury total loss of water dangerous structures PRIORITY 2: Urgent within 7 days repairs to leaking pipes blocked sink or basin tap (other than main drinking water) that cannot be turned minor leak from a water or heating pipe, tank or cistern PRIORITY 3: Routine within 21 days All other repairs. 41
Appointments We offer appointments for non-urgent repairs. We will discuss arrangements for this when you call to report the repair. Please make sure that you keep appointments or let us know in advance if you are unable to. Repairs service monitoring We monitor the performance of all our contractors to ensure they are providing a good service. Your feedback on repairs is very important to us. We will send you a feedback form. Please fill in and return the form once the work is complete. What to expect from contractors All contractors employed by us will be required to work within an agreed code of conduct. Our contractors will: show respect for you and your home at all times arrange a morning or afternoon appointment, and to work only between 8 am and 5 pm on Mondays to Fridays, unless you agree a different time show their identity cards explain clearly what the work will involve, when it will be done, and how long it will expect to take show consideration to the needs of disabled and vulnerable tenants avoid making excessive visits to your home be careful about security be responsible with using scaffolding keep work tools and dangerous substances out of the reach of children 42
not smoke, drink alcohol or play music in your home not move your belongings without permission and without you being present not use the following without your permission: any of your belongings, such as ladders or chairs your telephone your WC, or kitchen your bathroom or kitchen to clean equipment (if you do give permission, the rooms must be left clean and tidy) use dustsheets where required where a repair cannot be completed immediately, to ensure your home is left wind and weather proof, with all possible services left on, and to warn you of any hazards tell you when the work is finished, to remove all rubbish, and to leave your home tidy treat all details about you in confidence in accordance with Data Protection 1998 legislation. What contractors will expect from you To be co-operative about making appointments and to give at least 24 hours notice if you cancel an appointment. To clear the work area of any of your belongings. To keep your children and pets away from the work area and from the contractors tools. To allow contractors to have reasonable use of your gas, electricity and water if necessary. If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of our repairs service, please tell us. We need your views to help us improve our services. 43
Be safe and secure Identity cards You should not let anyone into your home unless you are satisfied that they are who they say they are. All staff and contractors employed by us carry identification. If you are ever unsure about the identity of one of our staff or contractors, ask them to call back later and call us for confirmation. If you send a contractor away call us to let us know immediately. Maintaining and improving your home We carry out a programme of planned works to maintain and improve our properties. We need to ensure that they are in good repair, easy to maintain, and economical to run. This work can include: external decoration replacement kitchens new roofs modernisation, e.g. central heating system improvements to energy efficiency replacement windows. You will be consulted before any works are carried out in or near your home and we will tell you when the work is to be carried out. We aim to cause you as little inconvenience as possible. Where practical, you will have a choice of colours or finishes for the paint and fittings. Altering and improving your home You have the right to carry out alterations or improvements to your home, but you must have our permission in writing first. We will not refuse permission without a good reason, but we will have to consider: whether the improvement will make your home or other properties less safe whether the value of the property will be affected. In general, you must not put a satellite dish up if you live in a flat, but you may put one up on the side or back of your house if we give our permission. 44
If you would like an application form for altering or improving your home, please contact your local office. You should not start work until you have received our written permission and have met any conditions we ask you to meet. Conditions are likely to relate to getting planning and other permission, or returning the property to its original condition at the end of your tenancy. Note: You may also need planning permission or building control approval. Your right to compensation for improvements you carry out You have the right to claim compensation for certain listed improvements which you make to your home. We pay this compensation when your tenancy ends. You must have our permission to carry out the improvements and must meet any reasonable standards we set. When considering how much compensation to pay we take off an amount for wear and tear or loss of value on the improvements. Type of Improvement How long it should last We will pay compensation for Bath or shower Wash basin Toilet Kitchen sink Storage cupboards in bathroom or kitchen Work surfaces for preparing food Space heating or water heating Thermostatic radiator valves Insulation for pipes, water tank or cylinder Loft insulation Cavity wall insulation 12 years 12 years 12 years 10 years 10 years 10 years 12 years 7 years 10 years 20 years 20 years 45
Type of Improvement Draught proofing of external doors outside doors or windows Double glazing or secondary glazing Rewiring or providing power and lighting or other electrical fittings (including smoke detectors) Anything which improves the security of the house (not burglar alarms) How long it should last 8 years 20 years 15 years 10 years We will not usually pay compensation for you to replace an item listed above if there is already one at the property. Once you have received our written permission to carry out the improvements, you must send us three estimates for doing the work from reliable contractors. You must also tell us why you have chosen the estimate you accept. You must not start work until we have agreed to the estimate. When we give you permission to start work, we will remind you that the amount we pay in compensation will not be the full amount you are paying to the contractor. This is because we allow for wear and tear and loss of value to the improvement. We will only pay the compensation at the end of your tenancy. If you owe us any amount at that time, we may put the compensation towards your debts to us. If you break the conditions of your tenancy agreement and we end your tenancy, you will not normally be entitled to any compensation for improvements you have carried out. Compensation for improvements is paid on a sliding scale. For example, if you install a shower and then move five years later, you will be reimbursed 7/12 of the cost of the shower in respect of the value that you leave behind. 46
Repairs to newly built homes defects If your home is newly built, the responsibility for carrying out repairs within the first year (this is known as the defects period ) lies with the developer. This does not include repairs for damage that has been caused by you. You should notify our repairs team during office hours of any defects and we will inform the developer. These repairs may take a little longer than our normal repairs. However, urgent repairs will always be dealt with quickly. At the end of the defects period, the property will be inspected and all outstanding works that fall within the defects definition will be repaired. It will help this inspection if you keep a list of all minor problems as they occur. Repairs are designated as an emergency when there is either a risk to someone s life or a risk of serious injury if not repaired immediately. If an emergency defect occurs outside of office hours, call us on 0845 757 3842 and follow the instructions. Gas servicing and annual safety check It is a legal requirement that we carry out an annual gas safety inspection in your home. We employ contractors to check and service gas appliances belonging to Hastoe. Unsafe gas appliances can cause a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. UNSAFE GAS APPLIANCES CAN KILL The contractor will arrange a convenient appointment with you. Please ensure that you co-operate with access arrangements for this to happen. If the contractor is unable to gain access to your home, we will be informed and we will write to you. You must comply and allow us reasonable access to your home to carry out this annual safety check. If you do not allow us access we will have to apply to the county court for an injunction to gain access. 47
What if Hastoe get it wrong on repairs? Your Right to Repair If we fail to carry out certain repairs without good reason, you can carry them out and claim back money from us. You must have our permission before you start work. This is known as your Right to Repair and there is a procedure to follow if you want to do this. The scheme is complicated and it is best if you ask advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau or your solicitor first. We will not make any payment unless you follow our procedure. For more details of the scheme, please contact us. Your right to compensation for repairs not carried out There are time limits within which we must carry out repairs which we are responsible for. You are entitled to compensation if: you tell us that a repair is needed and we do not do the repair; and when you remind us of the repair, we again fail to do it within the time limit. This only applies to repairs which are necessary to protect your health, safety or security as listed opposite, and which are estimated to cost no more than 250 including VAT. When you report a repair, we will send you a repair notice telling you what work is to be done, the name of the contractor doing the work and the date by which the work should be done. You must allow the contractor into your home to do the work. If the contractor fails to carry out the work within the given time and you let us know, we will send you another repair notice. If the contractor misses this second deadline, you can claim compensation of 10, plus 2 for each day the repair remains unfinished after the end of the second period. We will not pay more than 50 in compensation. 48
Repairs which qualify for compensation: Total loss of electrical power. Unsafe power, lighting socket or electrical fitting. Total loss of water supply. Loss of gas supply. Blocked flue to open fire or boiler. Loss of space heating or water heating between 31 October and 1 May, if this affects sick, elderly or children under 2 years old. Blocked or leaking drain, soil stack or (if there is no other working toilet in the house) toilet pan. Toilet not flushing (if there is no other working toilet in the house). Mains water tap which cannot be turned. Burst heating pipe, tank or cistern. Leaking roof. Damaged outside window, door or lock. Severe structural damage caused by storm or an object colliding with the building. Door entry phone not working. Complaints You have the right to complain if you disagree with the settlement. All complaints must be made in accordance with our complaints procedure and before any payment is made. 49