Repairing and Maintaining Your Home
Repairing and Maintaining
Your Home
Great homes,
positive people,
strong communities
2
Repairing and Maintaining Your Home
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Repairing and maintaining your home is important because we want you to live in a home
that is safe and of a good quality.
You have a responsibility to tell us when a repair is needed in your home so that we can
fix it quickly and prevent long term damage.
Who is responsible for repairs to my home?
Origin is responsible for some of the repairs to your home but there are some items for which
you are responsible. We have outlined repair responsibilities in the table below so that you
know who will fix which repairs.
Our responsibilities
Your responsibilities
Outside
• Outside drains, gutters, down pipes and
underground pipes within the property boundary
• Roofs and chimneys
• Outside walls, pathways and steps
• Boundary walls and fences separating your home
from communal areas, public paths and roads
• Fencing between residents’ homes (unless this is
damaged by you, your visitors or your pets)
• Sweeping chimneys (if you have a coal fire)
• Keeping drains and gullies clear and removing minor
drain blockages
• Getting into your home if you become locked out
because you do not have your keys
• Maintaining private gardens and clearing rubbish
from private gardens or balconies
Walls, windows and doors
• Front door and door frames
• Repairs following criminal damage or vandalism
(providing the incident is reported to the police
and a crime reference number is provided)
• Installing or replacing draught excluders, unless
we provide these as part of an energy efficiency
programme
3
Our responsibilities
Your responsibilities
Walls, windows and doors continued
• Internal walls, skirting boards, and plasterwork
• Internal painting and decorating (unless you live in
• Replacing internal wall tiles that have not been
supported or retirement housing)
damaged through misuse
• Replacing broken glass or glazing to any doors,
• Window frames and window catches
windows or fixed panes where a crime number has
• Boarding up broken glass in windows and doors
not been provided by the police
• Maintaining letterboxes, spy-holes and door chains • Repairing internal doors and replacing handles and
(unless you have fitted these yourself)
locks
Plumbing and pipes
• Hot and cold water pipe work
• Damage to plumbing installation within your home
• Wash hand basins and baths where damage has not if it is a result of misuse
been caused by misuse
• Replacing your shower hose, shower head and sink
• Unblocking toilets, main drains, and soil pipes
or bath plugs
connected with your home
• Unblocking sinks, wash hand basins, baths and
• Unblocking communal waste pipes
showers
Heating and electrics
• Fixed controllable heating systems, gas fired boilers,
storage heaters, radiators and gas supply pipe work
• Electric immersion heaters fitted to hot water
storage cylinders
• Fixed electrical installations (such as fires)
• Mains operated fire or smoke alarms that we
installed
• Communal door entry systems and intercoms
• Air extraction systems
• Communal TV aerials
• Replacing any type of light bulbs, fluorescent tubes
and starter motors
• Resetting trip switches
• Repairs to your own portable heaters and/or
electrical items
• Regular testing of smoke alarms and replacing
Batteries within your home
• Maintaining or replacing your front door bell
• Control of condensation and ventilation in your home
• Your phone point and internal TV connection
You will also be responsible for the cost of any repairs needed to your home that are caused
by deliberate damage or misuse by you, your family, friends or visitors.
It is very important that you have household contents insurance. We only insure the building
that you live in, not your belongings. So if something happens to them because of a repair
problem, we will not cover the cost of replacing them. Our Customer Service Team can give
you more advice about low cost home insurance.
4
Repairing and Maintaining Your Home
How can I report a repair?
We offer a range of ways for you to report a repair to your home or a communal area.
You can choose the one that best suits you:
• Call our 24 hour telephone line 0800 040 7989 or 020 7209 9222
• Email repairs@originhousing.org.uk
• Visit www.originhousing.org.uk
• Visit one of our offices
So that we can fix your repair quickly and easily we will need information from you such
as your contact details, the best times for an appointment and as much detail about the
repair as possible.
How quickly will my repair be fixed?
This will depend on the type of repair that you have asked for.
If you have reported a repair that we class as an “emergency repair” we will aim to attend
within two hours to make it safe. Any further work required will be arranged for the following
working day.
For all other repairs we will arrange an appointment (morning or afternoon) on a day that is
convenient to you. This will be between 8am and 8pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays
and Thursdays, between 8am and 6pm on Fridays and between 8am to 12 noon on Saturdays. We aim to carry out as many repairs as possible within 10 days of them being reported.
What is an emergency repair?
Emergency repairs are those problems that need to be fixed quickly to avoid danger posed to
health, safety or buildings. Situations where an emergency response will be required include:
• Gas leaks
• Serious floods and leaks that cannot be stopped by turning off a stopcock
• Sewage that is surging through an external drain or internally, for example through a sink
• Loss of mains cold water
5
• A total loss of electrical power (but not blown fuses, tripped circuits, or power cuts)
• A blocked toilet (if there is only one toilet in the home)
• Doors and windows that cannot be secured where there is a risk to security, for example
those that are located on a ground floor or those that can be accessed easily from a
public walkway
• Total loss of heating in winter (between October and March)
• Threatened or actual collapse of part of a building
• Failure of door entry systems in retirement and supported housing
• Fire alarm and emergency call systems
• Lifts that have broken down
• Removal of offensive graffiti
What happens after I have reported my repair?
Pre-inspections
Sometimes it will be necessary for an Origin surveyor to attend your home to carry out a
“pre-inspection”, before your repair appointment. A pre-inspection helps us to identify the
cause of a fault when it is not immediately clear what repair work is required.
Your appointment
We will usually send you a reminder about your appointment, just before it is due. We can do
this by text if we have your mobile phone number.
It is really important that you or someone else who can give us access is at your home at
the time of your repair appointment. If our contractor is unable to get into your home, this
will cost Origin money and will delay the completion of the repair. If for any reason you are
unable to make the appointment time, please let us know as soon as possible.
What can I expect from the repairs contractor?
You can expect the person that visits your home to be polite and respectful and to clean up
after the work has been completed. They must not smoke or play a radio in your home and
will use protective sheets to cover your furniture and floor coverings where necessary. They
will also wear over shoe protectors if asked to do so.
6
Repairing and Maintaining Your Home
All contractors working for us should show you an
identity card and the vehicle they are using should be
clearly branded. You should always ask to see an identity
card before letting any contractor or Origin staff member
into your home.
The contractor is required to keep the appointment agreed
with you. Where this is not possible they will let you know
in advance and make alternative arrangements that are
convenient to you.
What happens if my repair isn’t completed
at the first visit?
We aim to complete your repair at the first appointment made with you or during additional
visits agreed with you if it is a longer job. Additional visits may be required when more materials
are needed or where further work by a specific tradesperson, such as a plumber, is required.
Where this happens the contractor will agree the next appointment with you before leaving
your home and we will keep you informed about the progress of your repair.
What is my right to repair?
The ‘right to repair’ means that some residents can take action when we fail to complete certain
repairs within our published response timescales on at least two occasions. Please contact our
Customer Service Team if this happens, you may be entitled to a set amount of compensation.
What happens after my repair is completed?
We may arrange another visit so that we can post-inspect your repair. Post-inspections allow us
to check that repairs are of a good standard and that customers are happy with the work.
How can I give Origin feedback?
We welcome your feedback because it helps us to improve our repairs service. If you have
a compliment, complaint or suggestion for improvement about the way we carry out repairs
please let our Customer Service Team know using the contact details on the back of this leaflet.
You may also be contacted by someone to find out more about your experience of our repairs
service. We will regularly monitor and report our performance on repair handling.
7
Other important information
Why are gas safety checks so important?
Gas safety checks help ensure that you can live safely in your home. We are legally required to carry
out checks on gas appliances in your home at least once a year. It is very important that you let our gas
safety contractor into your home to carry out these checks. If we are unable to access your home we
may have to cap the gas supply. We may also force entry into your home or take you to court. The cost
of doing this will be covered by you.
If you think that you are overdue a gas safety check, please contact our Customer Service Team.
What happens if I have a gas leak?
If you smell gas and suspect a leak contact National Grid Gas on 0800 111 999 immediately.
What other checks will you carry out?
We will arrange for mechanical and electrical items such as communal lifts to be serviced regularly,
to ensure that they are working properly. We will also carry out electrical safety tests and check
communal fire alarms on a regular basis.
What type of improvements will you make to my home?
Some parts of your home will wear out over time. To address this we will put your home into a programme
for repair or replacement for each of these parts or items. Examples of this work include the decoration of
communal areas (every five to eight years) or the replacement of kitchens and bathrooms if they are in poor
condition (usually after 20 years for kitchens and 30 years for bathrooms). We will not cover the cost of
improvement work where items need to be repaired or replaced because of deliberate damage or misuse.
How will I know when you will be making improvements to my home?
To find out where your home is in our improvement work programme please contact us using the
details on the back of this leaflet. When we reach the time that we need to carry out work in your
home we will contact you in advance to tell you about the work and how it will affect you. In some
cases we will offer you a choice around the design. We will do all that we can to minimise disruption
when carrying out the work.
Can I make improvements to my home myself?
It is possible that you can make some alterations and improvements to your home but you will need
permission from us beforehand. We will normally let you make the changes if we are happy with the
work that you have planned and the company you want to use to carry out the work. We may also
inspect the work once it is completed.
What happens if I lose my supply of electricity, gas or water?
You will need to contact the relevant supplier company in order to get this problem fixed. The name
and contact details of your supplier company will be on your bill.
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‫ا‬ ،  ‫ إذا ر‬.‫ر‬‫وى أو ا‬‫ أو ا‬ ‫ إ‬‫آ‬‫و‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ ا‬‫ت ه‬ ‫ور‬
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Bu broşür, bize nasıl katılacağınızı açıklamaktadır. Tercümesini istiyorsanız,
Origin
Housing, St Richards House,
lütfen bizimle
Moving
home irtibata geçiniz.
110 Eversholt
Street,
NW1 1BS
Este documento
es London
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documento traducido, por favor póngase en contacto con nosotros.
Telephone:
0800
040
7989
or
020
7209
9222
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Moving
home،  ‫ إذا ر‬. ‫رآ‬‫ ا‬   ‫ق ا‬‫ ا‬ ‫ا‬
‫ا‬
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Zvn‡j
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Ki“b| Tercümesini istiyorsanız, lütfen bizimle
Text:Bu
07500
798
227taşımakla
broşür,
evinizi
ilgilidir.
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Audio
Different
Large
irtibata
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Email:
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print
Repairing
Maintaining
Your Home
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07/2012
Moving home
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