Repairs and Maintenance

Dealing with repairs and mainteance issues promptly is important to us but it is just as impotant that all parties understand their responsibilities. This page provides information on repairs and maintenance and getting repairs done promptly. It explains both the tenant’s and the landlord’s responsibilities to do repairs. We also cover minor repair issues and some common repair problems.

Tenancy Deposits

This will explain where your tenancy deposit is held, what it is used for and how it is repaid to you when your tenancy comes to an end.

Ending A Tenancy

To end a tenancy, it is important that it is ended in the legal framework that is designed for the tenancy and in accordance with the tenancy contract,  this page we explains how a tenancy is ended.........

FAQ's

It is impossible to answer all the questions associated with tenancies and rental properties but we have created a Frequently Asked Question section which may help.

Applying For A Tenancy

If you would like to apply for one of our tenancies, this page will explain all you need to know.........

During The Tenancy

This section will help you understand your tenancy, what the tenancy agreement means and what yours and our responsibilities are.

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Repairs & Maintenance

We explain the process relating to repairs and maintenance issues, the importance of reporting issues to us and what your responsibility is in relation to minor repairs......

As Landlords, we take our responsiblities seriously and make our best endeavours to efficiently deal with issues reported to us by our tenants and we have a group of tradesmen that take care of our property repairs.  The following information is very important and will help you understand our policy on repairs and maintenance as well as how to report them.

Our Responsibilities

We are responsible for most major repairs to our properties. These would include:

  • the structure of the property, for example walls, roof, windows and doors
  • sinks, baths, toilets
  • pipes and wiring
  • heating and hot water, such as the boiler.
  • the safety of gas and electrical appliances.

We will endevour to attend to maintenance repairs at the earlieste opportunity, but we do have a system of prioritasing repairs dependent on the nature of that repair.

Your Responsibilities

As a tenant, you are responsible for certain aspects of the property maintenance, specifically those you are contactually respondisble for by way of the tenancy agreement.

  • Keep all drains clean and clear of debris.
  • Keep gutters clean and clear of debrids (as per the tenancy agreement).
  • Make sure all drain pipes are in good order and if not, report any issues immediatley.
  • Keep the proeprty in a good order and a presentable standard and maintain any garden, hedges or yard areas where relevant.

Tenants are also responsible for minor repairs, for example repairing door handles, bathroom fittings which are loose and the changing of light bulbs, and of course  tenants have to fix anything  they have damaged.

Damp & Mould

Damp and Mould are very impotrtant isues so we have a page dedicated to this subject as well as  Condensation in properties, so  we ask you to read it carefully.  Click here for the page

Minor Repairs

As Landlords, we are responsible for the repairs and the maintenance of the property you are renting from us and in return, as a tenant you must use your home in a ‘tenant like manner’.

Looking after your home

This means:

  • keeping your home and the grounds clean, tidy and presentable.
  • You must conduct safety checks on electrical appliances you own.
  • keeping gardens or outside areas in a clean state and not to allow them to be untidy.
  • making sure your home is well ventilated to help avoid condensation
  • making sure your home is well heated in winter to avoid condensation.
  • being responsible for minor maintenance such as changing light bulbs and smoke alarm batteries, loose handles etc (it’s really a matter of common sense).
  • being responsible for the cleaning of the gutters, and making sure the drain pipes are not damaged.
  • makind sure that all drains are clear of any debris and litter.

Click Here for more information about minor repairs

Emergency Situations

An emergency situation is one where there is an immediate risk to life or property or to other peoples life or property and will be dealt with as a matter of the utmost urgency with immediate attendance to the property if deemed necessary – then you must call us on 07775 784 192
 

Report A Gas Leak

If you smell gas, you must call the Gas Emergency number immediately on 0800 111 999 to report the incident. Do not go back into the property no matter what the reason, you must wait for advice from the emergency gas services.

 

Reporting a Repair

Due to the nature of the regulations within the Private Rental Sector, any repair or maintenance issue, no matter how small, must be reported to us in writing. This can be done via this website email message page or via our WhatsApp mobile contact number. Even if you call us to report the issue, it must then be followed up in writing and the matter cannot be actioned until it is.

 

Tenants must not undertake any repair or maintenance without our written approval and tenants must not instruct any one else to undertake any maintenance or repairs to the property without our written approval.

To report a repair, please go our Contact Page

Important – Contact Information

Our office hours are strictly Monday to Friday 9-00 – 4-00. Please do not text or call after these hours unless absolutely necessary

It is important for tenants to understand that as landlords we have our own personal lives and will not always be available to address non-emergency issues outside of regular business hours. In order to respect our time and privacy, it is best for tenants to only contact us in the case of a serious emergency.

Ensure that you are experiencing a true emergency and that the issue could not be resolved during normal working hours. Please remember that if a contractor is called out of hours when a repair is not justified, you will be liable for the cost of the out of hour call.

Examples of serious emergencies would include:

We will attend the property for any of the following reasons.

  • A fire or other dangerous situation that requires immediate attention
  • A plumbing issue that is causing significant water damage
  • A power outage or other issue that is affecting the safety of the property

Urgent Situations

Whilst urgent and an inconvenience, the following examples are not dealt with out of normal office hours

  • Loss of heating and or hot water
  • Loss of electric power, either part loss or full loss
  • Being locked out of the property

We believe that judgement is a matter of common sense as to whether a situation qualifies as a serious emergency.  For non-emergency issues, please wait until regular business hours to contact us.

If you have a true emergency, you must CALL and leave a voicemail stating EXACTLY what the situation is. All voicemails are immediately forwarded to us and we deal with them relevant to their importance.

By following these guidelines, tenants can help ensure that we are able to address any issues in a timely and efficient manner, while also respecting our personal time and privacy.

Service Levels

Reporting Issues Promptly:

To assisst with timely repairs, please report non-emergency issues promptly in writing via our d maintenance request system. For urgent matters, contact our emergency hotline immediately.

Patience during Peak Seasons

During periods with increased maintenance requests, such as winter or extreme weather conditions, we ask for  patience and understanding as we work to address everyone’s needs, some of which are a higher priority than others.

Managing Expectations:

While we are committed to providing swift and efficient service, it’s important to maintain reasonable expectations. Some repairs may take longer due to external factors, or due to the fact that we are dealing with higher prioroty issues. 

Clear communication helps us address your concerns effectively. If there are specific considerations or limitations that you are aware of, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

Loss of Heating and or Hot Water

If a boiler breaks down, you can be sure it will break down late on Christmas Eve; Murphy’s Law is ever present!

It’s horribly inconvienient when a boiler breaks down, no matter when it is, but boilers do breakdown whether you live in rented accommodation or you own your own home, it happens to everyone.  Gtting a tenants heating up and running quickly is our priority and the following sets out the service levels you can expect;

  • We will make our best endevours to get your boiler up and running as soon as is possible.
  • Boilers can only be repaired by approved Gas Safe engineers, therefore we are at the behest of securing the services of an engineer.
  • If the boiler has brokend down due to a part problem, the situation can only be resolved by ordering, receiving and fitting the part, and we have no control over the situation where parts are scarse of out of stock.
  • Our legal responsibility is to make our best endevours to get your heating up and running. We are not legally obliged to call an out of hourse heating engineer unless there is a serious risk to life or property.

For more information about heating and boiler problems, please click here

Loss of Electrics

Electrical Systems in our properties are modern RCD systems certificed by an approved electrician. If your electric system goes off, it is highly unlikey to be the Electrical System and more likely to be one of the following causes.

  • The system is overloaded which requires appliances to be unplugged
  • There is a faulty appliance plugged into the circuit – unplug all appliances.
  • There is a faulyt extension being used
  • The credit on the meter has run out.

Please Note:

Where an electrician is called out to check a reported fault on the system and that fault turns out to be the fault of the tenant (i.e. a faulty appliance), we willl charge the tenant the call out charge which the electrician charges to us.

For more information about electrical problems, please click here

 

Roof Repairs

Leaking roofs cause problems further down the line if they are not dealt with so we take them seriously and when reported to us are dealt with quickly.  We will send someone out to assess the reported leak and schedule the relevant works that are reported back to us.  Please note that we will undertake the remedial work as soon as we can, but roofing repairs are strictly governed by the weather conditions which are often beyond our control.  Unless it is an absoloute emergency, roof repairs will take place in safe weather only

Ants, flies and other insects

With all the will in the world, as landlords there is very little we can do about flys, ants, bees and other insects getting into the house.  The simple solution for tenants is to kill them with insect repellants or spays,  thats really all that can be done.