Repairing, Maintaining
and Improving
Your Home
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contact us on 01237 428080 or email info@tarkahousing.org.uk
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Repairing,
Maintaining
& Improving
Your Home
The rent you pay covers the cost
of most repairs and maintenance.
In this leaflet, we summarise the
most important information
about repairs, maintenance and
improvements to your home.
Your tenancy agreement contains
a more detailed list of repair
responsibilities.
Repairing, Maintaining and Improving Your Home
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Our responsibilities
We are responsible for maintaining:
• drains, gutters and external pipes
• the roof, chimney and chimney stack
• external walls
• external door and window sills and frames
• pathways or other means of access
• boundary walls and fences where they are owned by us
• communal lighting
• heating and hot water supply equipment
• water, drainage, gas and electrical systems
• baths, basins and toilets
• kitchen units, internal
doors & ironmongery
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Your responsibilities
You are responsible for maintaining:
• painting and decorating the internal doors, walls, ceilings,
window sills and window frames
• repairs to any fixtures and fittings that belong to you
• unblocking drains where you caused the blockage
• your garden and boundary hedges, including resident
erected gates, fences & walls
• minor internal repairs or replacements, such as
light bulbs, fluorescent tubes and starters,
• curtain rails, plugs and chains for baths and sinks, and
electrical fuses
• repairing any installation fitted by you after the start of
your tenancy
• removal of any wasp nest, rats, mice and other pests.
You are also responsible for
damage caused by neglect
or misuse by you, your family
or your visitors.
Repairing, Maintaining and Improving Your Home
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How to report a repair
During normal working hours you can:
• Contact the caretaker or support advisors (if there is one
where you live)
• Contact us at our offices at:
Tarka Housing
Tarka House
Clovelly Road Industrial Estate
Bideford EX39 3HN
Call our freephone repairs number 0800 107 8191
Use our online reporting form: www.tarkahousing.org.uk
Or email us at info@tarkahousing.org.uk with Repair
in the subject line.
We will need this information from you:
• Your name, address and flat/house number
• An explanation of what repair is needed
• How the damage happened
• Details of how to contact you
If the repair is your responsibility, we might
be able to do it on your behalf
and then charge you for it.
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Our response times
Some repairs are more urgent than others.
Our general guidelines are:
Emergencies
• Flood, fire, water or gas leaks, total
electrical failure, smashed or broken
windows or doors which would leave your
property insecure. Blocked flues to open
fires or boilers. Within 24 hours.
•Where appropriate, you should report these
types of emergency to the local water, fire,
electricity or gas emergency services immediately.
•Notify Tarka Housing as soon as you can using the
useful contacts on page 6.
Urgent
• No heating or hot water, burst pipes where
the flooding can be stopped, blocked drains.
Within 2 working days.
Repairing, Maintaining and Improving Your Home
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Non-urgent repairs, by appointment
• Minor leaks, faulty external locks, loose handrails,
damaged paths. Within 5 working days.
• Faulty taps, overflows, loose door handles, leaking gutters.
Within 10 working days.
• Damage to plaster or woodwork, damaged fencing,
general repairs. Within 20 working days.
We also have a programme of ongoing maintenance, which
includes items such as external painting and servicing doors
and windows. We will let you know in advance when this
work will take place.
Repairs outside office hours (emergencies only)
An agency called Call 24 Hour provides our
emergency out of hours repair service.
Their phone number is 01752 770302.
You should contact the emergency repair
service only if there is a danger to you, the
public or your home outside office hours.
If you live in a sheltered scheme, tell your
scheme manager who will contact
Call 24 Hour for you.
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Helping yourself
This section explains how to prevent
some common problems that can
lead to major repairs.
Preventing frozen pipes
• If you go away in winter, maintain a low level of heating to
prevent pipes freezing or have the water pipes drained by
a responsible, qualified plumber.
• Report dripping taps and overflows.
• Report un-lagged pipes.
• If the pipes freeze, turn the mains off at the stopcock. Then
turn the affected taps on very slightly so that the pressure
doesn’t build up as it thaws.
• Let the pipes thaw naturally or apply gentle heat, such as a
hairdryer or a cloth soaked in hot water.
• Don’t pour boiling water, or put anything too hot, onto
the pipes.
Fixing burst pipes
• Contact South West Water if the mains pipe bursts
outside your home.
• If the pipes burst inside your home, turn off all stopcocks
immediately and place containers to catch the water.
• Turn on all taps and flush the toilet to clear water out of
the pipes and storage tank as quickly as possible.
Repairing, Maintaining and Improving Your Home
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Clearing blocked sinks and drains
This can be a difficult and expensive problem to solve.
These two important tips can help to prevent blockages in
the sinks and drains in your home:
• never pour fat or tea leaves down the drain.
• never put disposable kitchen or bathroom wipes, nappies,
sanitary towels and plastic bags down the toilet.
If your sink is blocked, you should try these methods to clear
it first:
• pour boiling water down the drain to melt any fat that
could be causing a blockage.
• use a plunger
• unscrew the bottle trap or ‘U’ bend underneath the sink.
Remember to put a bucket underneath first, and then empty
the trap to release any blockage.
If you can’t clear it, contact our
Repairs department.
*Remember if the
blockage was caused by
something that you put
down the drain, then
you may have to pay
for the repair.
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Installing a washing machine or shower
Tarka Housing has an ongoing improvement programme
whereby when bathrooms and kitchens are upgraded we
offer provision for washing machines and over bath showers
as standard. However, if you wish to carry this out for yourself
you must ask us in writing for permission first. Although we
will normally agree, we will advise you how to carry out
the work, and we will want to be sure that you are using
a competent person to carry out the installation, we may
also be able to offer assistance by providing the name of a
reputable contractor to carry out the work on your behalf.
If a washing machine or shower is not installed correctly, there
is a risk of flooding. Any repairs required as a result of an
unsatisfactory installation will be your responsibility.
Decorating your home
We will decorate the outside of your home and any
communal hallways, corridors or staircases that you
share with other people. This will be done on a cyclical
basis (normally every 5 years) and we will consult with you
on colour choices and finishes before carrying out the work.
You are responsible for decorating the inside of your home.
Before you move out, we will visit to check if you need to do
any repairs or redecorating. If you fail to carry out the work
we have requested, we will reserve the right to have the work
carried out by one of our contractors and send you the bill.
If you are planning to move out, we request that you
re-decorate in pastel shades of paint or wallpaper.
Repairing, Maintaining and Improving Your Home
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Improving Your Home
Improvements that you make
You have the right to make improvements and alterations,
such as building a patio or installing fitted cupboards, to your
home, however you must get our written permission before
carrying out any work.
We will only refuse permission where improvement is
inappropriate, would damage the property, make it unsafe or
reduce its value. You may also need other approvals, such as
planning permission and building regulations consent.
The improvements that you make will not increase your
rent, however you will be responsible for the ongoing repair
and maintenance of them.
In some cases, you may be required to remove the
improvements if you decide to move out of the property,
or if the improvements are permanent i.e an extension or
conservatory, you might be entitled to compensation when
you move out. Please ask us in advance for information
about the procedures.
Improvements for special needs
We may be able to help you or someone in your household
to live independently if they are affected by a disability or
have a special need.This may include making reasonable
adaptations and alterations to suit the disability. Please ask us
for more information about what we can do for you.
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Improvements that we make
As part of the Associations commitment to ensure our
properties are maintained to a high standard, we periodically
replace some major items in your home, such as kitchen
units, bathroom suites, windows, doors and central heating
systems. This work is carried out to a programme of ongoing
improvements where a number of properties are completed
at the same time. We will always let you know in advance of
what we plan to do and how it will affect you.You will have the
chance to give us your comments and we will take your views
into account prior to undertaking any work to your property.
During the process of any work, we will work closely with the
appointed contractor and you to reduce any inconvenience
and disruption to you. If your furnishings or possessions are
damaged as a result of faulty workmanship or carelessness on
the part of the contractor or one of our employees, you might
be entitled to claim for compensation.
In very rare circumstances you may need to temporarily
move out for a short time because of the work in your
home. We will always give you advance notice if this needs to
happen. We will find you temporary accommodation and pay
reasonable expenses for removals and
storage.You will continue to pay rent for
your home, but not for the temporary
accommodation. In some cases, your rent
will go up after the improvements are
completed, but we will discuss this with
you before we start work.
Repairing, Maintaining and Improving Your Home
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Repairs Default Scheme
We work hard to provide an efficient and responsive repairs
service. If you have reported a repair to us and it has not
been fixed within the timescale in this handbook, please
phone the office on 01237 428080.
In some cases you can arrange for the repairs to be done
by a contractor approved by us and charge us for the work.
This only applies to jobs that cost less than £200.
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*If you want to use this scheme, you must send us a letter
by recorded delivery that contains the following information:
• Your name and address.
• The date that you first reported the repair.
• The type of repair.
• Details of any contacts that you have had with us about
the repair.
• Your intention to arrange for the work to be done and
to charge us.
We will respond within seven working days, either by
starting work on the repair ourselves or writing to you to
confirm one of the following:
• The repair has been started or completed.
• We have arranged to get the work done.
• We have not been able to do the work because of
problems with access to your home.
• The cost of the repair is likely to be more than £200.
• The work is part of a planned maintenance programme.
• We do not agree that the work is necessary or is our
responsibility.
If we do not start work or reply in writing within seven
working days, you have the right to ask a contractor
approved by us to do the repair.
Repairing, Maintaining and Improving Your Home
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Tarka House, Clovelly Road Industrial Estate, Bideford EX39 3HN
Tel: 01237 428080 Fax: 01237 428098 Text: 07768 616161
Repairs Freephone: 0800 107 8191
Email: info@tarkahousing.org.uk
www.tarkahousing.org.uk
This booklet is printed on Greencoat Plus paper which contains 80% recycled fibre the remaining 20% virgin
pulp is totally chlorine free and has been awarded both the NAPM and the Eugropa recycled marks.
August 2012
Tarka Housing Ltd is an exempt charity, registered under Industrial & Provident Soc. Act No. 30101R.
Tenant Service Authority (TSA), the Regulator of Social Housing No. L4508.
A member of the National Housing Federation.