Repairs Information
- What are our repair responsibilities?
- What is my right to repair?
- What repairs am I responsible for?
- Are there other repair responsibilities?
- What repairs are under guarantee?
- What improvements & alterations are allowed?
- What is planned maintenance?
- What level of service can I expect from someone visiting my home?
- The roof, chimney and external flues, outside walls, gutters and down-pipes, external doors, windowsills, window catches, sash cords and window frames, including external painting and decorating
- Internal walls, skirting boards, door handles, floors (but not floor coverings) and ceilings and plaster work (but not painting and decorating)
- We will keep in good repair and proper working order, installations for supply of water, gas and electricity, for sanitation and for space and water heating. This may include: basins, sinks, baths, toilets, flushing systems, drains and waste pipes, where fitted by us
- Electrical wiring, gas pipes, water pipes and taps
- Water and space heaters, fireplaces and fires, where fitted by us
- In the case of flats, we will keep common entrances, halls and stairways and other common parts in reasonable repair.
We check all of our properties when they become vacant and, if repairs are needed, these will generally be completed before a new tenant moves in. To view our minimum acceptable standard by which an empty property can be re-let to a new tenant, click here
Your right to repair
As a “Johnnie” Johnson Housing tenant, you are entitled to compensation if you report a repair or maintenance problem, which affects your health, safety or security and we fail twice to carry out the repair within a reasonable timescale.
In the event that the repair is still not carried out by the due date, you will be entitled to claim compensation of £10.00 plus £2.00 for every day the repair is not completed after the second deadline. This applies only to repairs under £250.00 value, with some exceptions.
What repairs am I responsible for?
- Decorating the inside of your home and making good any cracks in the plaster
- Taking reasonable precautions to prevent damage or theft to the property including fire, frost, the bursting of water pipes or blocking of drains/toilets and clearing any blocked sinks
- Changing fuses and light bulbs, replacing lost keys, replacing plugs and chains and other bathroom fittings such as mirrors, floor coverings, washing lines and bleeding radiators
- Maintaining the garden, where the garden is your own, including dustbins and refuse areas
- Any repairs to the property caused by neglect or wilful damage
- Any forced entry if you are locked out
- Any damage or changes to the property caused by fittings, appliances or alterations supplied or carried out by you, including TV aerials, plumbing in of washing machines, cookers, dishwashers and adapting doors to accommodate carpets etc
Other Repair Responsibilities
- It is your responsibility to report repairs promptly and to allow our contractors access to your property so that the repair can be undertaken within the agreed time-scales. You, or a responsible adult, must be present while repairs are undertaken
- Tenants who live in flats are expected to keep halls and stairways clean and tidy. Where we employ staff to carry out specific cleaning duties in these areas, a service charge may be made
- You are responsible for the lifting of any wooden floor that has been fitted without our permission to allow access for repairs
Repairs under guarantee
Where major work has been carried out to your home or you have moved into a newly built property, all work on the property will be guaranteed. This is called a defects period and may be six to twelve months long. Any defects noted during this period are not dealt with under our general repairs policy, but rather they are passed to the original builders to carry out any repairs. If there is a repair problem that affects a number of properties, the builder may wait to do the work to all of the properties together.
Improvements & Alterations
An improvement or alteration means anything, which changes the property in any way or alters its gas, electricity or water services.
You may carry out improvements to your home – for example, by providing extra facilities or making additions or alterations. However, you must obtain written permission from us, enclosing drawings with specifications where possible, before starting any work. In some cases you will also have to obtain Planning Permission or Building Regulation Approval from the Local Council.
We try to be reasonable in considering your requests for improvements. But we may apply certain conditions before approving your plans. For example:
- Asking you to return the property to its original condition when you leave
- Getting appropriate safety certificates from installers
- Asking you to pay for any work that we have to carry out if your improvement is unsafe or breaks any other regulation
Examples of common alterations include:
- Moving or removing fitted units or doors
- Changes to central heating or the fitting of a gas fire
- Adding or moving electric points
- Plumbing in washing machines and other appliances
- Building patios
- Knocking down or building walls
- Putting in double-glazing
- Installing showers
- Putting up fencing
Planned maintenance
When planning to carry out major works, we try to arrange for it to be done on a group of homes at the same time to keep costs down. This will include external painting, repairs to doors and windows in preparation for painting, annual servicing of gas appliances and central heating, inspection and testing of appliances that we supply, re-roofing, re-wiring and other major works.
When we are planning to carry out major works we will consult with you about the proposed work and keep you informed of progress.
To view our future planned maintenance programmes please click here.
What level of service can I expect from someone visiting my home?
“Johnnie” Johnson Housing staff and contractors are committed to providing the best possible service and follow a customer care code of practice. This means anyone visiting your home will:
- Introduce themselves and show proof of identification
- Explain the nature and purpose of their visit
- Conduct themselves in a proper and professional manner, refrain from smoking and using bad language
- Take care of your property and possessions and protect them from dust, paint etc
- Keep your home secure whilst working there
- Keep safe all materials and equipment used on site to avoid danger to you and your visitors
- Re-connect and test services such as gas, water and electricity at the end of each working day
- Clear any rubbish arising as a result of the repair upon completion of the work
- Comply with Health and Safety legislation and relevant codes of practice
- Comply with “Johnnie” Johnson Housing Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy
- Where major works are involved, we will notify you of level of disturbance before work commences
- Be polite and friendly
- Treat your home with respect
- Explain any follow up work
