Repairs and maintenance service
Information leaflet
Repairs and
maintenance service
Information for leaseholders
Repairs and
maintenance service
Information for leaseholders
Your responsibilities
As a home owner you are usually responsible for all repairs to your home.
You should check your lease to see what you are responsible for.
The association’s responsibilities
If you live in a flat, the association is usually responsible for maintaining:
the structure of the building such as the walls, foundations and roof
internal and external communal areas.
This work will be paid for through your service charges.
Reporting repairs to the Maintenance Department
The Maintenance Department can be contacted by telephoning the
repairs freephone number shown in Section 1. All calls are recorded.
Please note: Repairs will be carried out wherever possible and items will
only be replaced when they cannot be economically repaired.
2
Repairs and maintenance service
How to report your repairs to the Maintenance Department
Your repair may be reported by:
telephone
letter
email
the association’s website www.aragon-housing.co.uk
personal visit to Aragon’s offices
asking an Aragon employee visiting you to report any repairs.
When you report a repair, or ask someone else to report it on your behalf,
please be ready to give the following information:
your name and address
a daytime telephone number
a mobile telephone number if available
a contact email address if available
when someone is usually at home to enable the repair to be carried out or
an inspection maden as much information as possible to fully describe what
the problem is and what is requiring attention or investigation
advise us if you have previously reported the problem
advise us if there are any special circumstances, e.g. if you are elderly,
disabled.
You are responsible for reporting any repairs to the association.
3
Repairs and maintenance service
Inspection of repairs
Sometimes it may be necessary for a maintenance surveyor to call and carry
out an inspection before a contractor is given an order to carry out repair
works. Such inspections would normally be carried out within 10 days but
if you are of pensionable age, disabled or a particularly vulnerable tenant,
they would be given a higher priority and carried out sooner, usually within
seven days. The association will usually be able to offer you an appointment
(a.m. or p.m.) for when the surveyor will call.
How soon will the repair be carried out?
When a contractor is issued with an order to carry out a repair it states one
of the following priority categories:
Priority 1 (Emergency work) - Work to be attended to within six hours of
receipt of notification of a repair request deemed to be an emergency
repair.
This category is to be used where lives or health are at risk or there is serious risk to property. Permanent repairs may be carried out at a later date. The purpose of this priority category is to ensure safety.
Priority 2 (Urgent work) - Work to be completed within five working days.
This category is to be used where the need for a repair causes hardship or inconvenience and there is some likelihood of serious damage to the property.
Priority 3 (Routine repairs) - Work to be completed within 20 days.
4
This category is to be used where there is no risk to life or health and the repair would only cause minor inconvenience and there is no likelihood of damage to the property.
Repairs and maintenance service
Priority 4 (Planned repair) - Work to be completed within 30 working days.
This category is to be used where the repair may require inspection and/or ordering of parts or specialist equipment. Also included in this category will be work that can be planned as part of other work in the same area with no inconvenience or risk to residents or the public. In some cases the full repair may be programmed for a later date. You will be informed if this is the case.
Please note: If you are a particularly vulnerable resident you may be given
additional priority if you make this known when reporting your repair.
The following are examples of the possible usage of the repair priority
categories:
Category
Repair example
Priority 1
Faulty lock to main entrance door to the flat
block which compromises security of the building
Priority 2
Failure of lighting to communal corridor
Priority 3
Damage to internal door in communal corridor
Priority 4
Making good to damaged decorations in
communal corridor
Providing access for repairs
If an inspection needs to be made, or repairs are required to your home, you
must let our employees, agents and contractors have access. We will give
you reasonable notice of this.
Notice of repair request letter/satisfaction letter
When a repair is requested the association will write to you, acknowledging
receipt of the repair request, detailing the contractor or directly employed
5
Repairs and maintenance service
staff (handypersons) assigned to carry out the repair and informing you
of the likely timescale for completing the works. If you have any queries
concerning the repair, or the work is not completed on time, please contact
the Repairs Freephone Team. Please quote the repair order number shown
on the letter.
At the bottom of the letter and overleaf you will find a satisfaction
questionnaire section. When the work is completed please fill in this
questionnaire and return it using the pre-paid envelope provided. This
section gives you the opportunity to comment on how satisfied you are
with the way the association dealt with your repair request and also data
extracted from the questionnaire is used to, wherever possible, improve the
service delivery to all customers.
Emergency out of hours repairs
The emergency out of hours freephone number can be used outside office
hours but only to report emergency repairs. An emergency repair is when it
is so urgent that it cannot reasonably be reported on the next working day.
Examples of emergency repairs are:
Uncontrollable burst pipes or severe leaks (not controllable by using a stop
valve or stopcock).
Blocked main drains within the property boundary. Blocked main drains in
the road may be the responsibility of either the local authority or the water
provider.
Serious or unsafe electrical systems to communal areas.
Hate crime graffiti.
6
Repairs and maintenance service
Outside normal office hours the freephone telephone number transfers
directly to a mobile telephone. The mobile telephone will be answered by
a duty officer who will not be working in the association’s offices but will
be ‘on-call’ to receive your telephone call. This officer will decide if the
situation is a true emergency and will, if considered necessary, arrange for
the most appropriate course of action to deal with the emergency repair. In
most cases the action will only be to make safe until the next working day.
There may be occasions when it is not possible to connect your call with
the mobile telephone. For example, if there is a weak signal or if the member
of staff is travelling in a car. When this happens you will be greeted with
a message but do not forget to state your name, address, post code and
contact telephone number.
In most of these cases your call should be returned within 15 minutes. Please
remember that an emergency fault will be dealt with on a call out basis and
only essential work will be carried out. Further repairs or replacement work
may be ordered on the next working day.
You should contact gas or electrical companies directly in the event of a
leak or major power failure. In the event of a total loss of water supply you
should check with your water provider to see if there is a burst pipe locally
affecting your supply. The association may seek to recover its costs for any
misuse of this out of hours emergency repairs service and in these cases may
decide to recharge customers.
Code of conduct for contractors
A copy of the association’s code of conduct for contractors can be provided
on request. Please contact us on our repairs freephone number if you would
like a copy.
7
Repairs and maintenance service
If there are problems please let us know immediately. If the matter is still not
resolved, you can use Aragon’s Customer Feedback Procedure if you wish.
New homes – defects liability period
If you have moved into a newly built home it will be covered by the builder’s
guarantee. This is often called the ‘defects liability period’. Repairs occurring
during this period will normally be undertaken by the builder.
This guarantee is usually for a period of six or 12 months. Details about this
and how to report a repair during the period are included in the information
booklet about your new home, provided by the association. If you are
unsure about this you can contact the Repairs Freephone Team. It would
be helpful if you could inform the person answering your telephone call
that your home is new. The association will arrange for any necessary repair
work to be carried out within the appropriate timescales by the builder or
contractor.
Planned works
The association consults leaseholders before we start any major works
of repair, maintenance or improvement for which you are required to
contribute and which will cost any leaseholder more than £250.00. You can
only be charged for major works in accordance with your lease agreement.
Examples of major works include window or roof renewal and replacement
of door entry systems to communal areas.
The association will also consult you about certain long-term agreements or
contracts lasting 12 months or more which we intend toenter into and will
cost you more than £250.00 per year, for any one piece of work.
8
Repairs and maintenance service
If you would like further information about planned works please contact
Aragon’s Property Department.
If we carry out planned or responsive repairs to your block/estate and the
value exceeds £250.00 per resident per annum, we have to inform you of the
estimated value and provide you with the reasons why we are undertaking
the work. This is called a Section 20 Notice.
The Notice will provide you with:
details of the work
who we intend to invite to tender (if existing contract partnerships – how
long they have been running)
contact details of the member of staff dealing with the project
details of where to view the specification and tender documentation
the period the Notice is effective.
This Notice will be issued in writing to you and may also be displayed
within the communal parts of your block. The Notice will also indicate
the likely cost of the work which will include VAT at the relevant rate and
professional fees.
www.aragon-housing.co.uk
9
06.14
Equality and Diversity
Aragon Housing Association has a responsibility to ensure that
equal opportunity and effective management of diversity are at the
core of its business. The association sets targets to deliver services
that are responsive to the needs of communities and individuals,
and promote social inclusion.
Do you need this in a different format?
Do you need the information in this document in a
different format? Please contact us on 0300 123 5544
to discuss your specific requirements.
Katherine’s House, Dunstable Street,
Ampthill, Bedfordshire MK45 2JP
AragonHousingAssociation
AragonHA
Tel: 0300 123 5544
Fax: 01525 403682
Email:enquiry@aragon-housing.co.uk
Web: www.aragon-housing.co.uk
Office opening hours: 8.45am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday
Registered address: Katherine’s House, Dunstable Street, Ampthill, Bedfordshire MK45 2JP
Registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965 No. 27816R Registered with the Tenant Services Authority No. L4048 Member of the National Housing Federation
Aragon Housing Association is part of Grand Union Housing Group