Request a repair
Page updated on: 02/10/2024
Before you move into your home we will make sure that it is maintained to our standards and any repairs from previous tenants have been carried out.
If you need something repairing you must tell us as soon as you notice it.
We are responsible for the following repairs in your home:
- The structure and outside the building - roofs, walls, floors, ceilings, window frames,
- Outside doors, drains, gutters and outside pipes;
- Kitchen and bathroom fixtures - basins, sink, toilets and baths;
- Electrical wiring, gas pipes and water pipes inside your home;
- Appliances and systems for heating rooms and water; and
- Any shared areas around your home - stairs, lifts, landings, lighting, entrance doors and halls, parking areas and shared yards.
If we repair any damage which has been caused by you or by anyone living with or visiting you or by your pets, we will do the work and charge you for it. We will discuss this with you and how much it will cost before we carry out the work.
This does not include damage resulting from fair wear and tear. There are also some repairs that you are responsible for.
Repairs that you are responsible for include:
- replacing broken glass in windows and doors;
- replacing locks, keys, catches and hinges on doors inside the home;
- repairing or replacing clothes lines and posts;
- replacing broken toilet seats;
- replacing broken tiles inside the home;
- repairing or replacing cupboard catches and hinges;
- replacing electric plugs and fuses;
- replacing sink and bath plugs;
- replacing waste grids;
- replacing batteries in smoke alarms;
- replacing gate catches and hinges;
- maintaining garden sheds;
- maintaining garden paths that do not form an essential part of the access to the property;
- maintaining garden fences and walls;
- clearing blockages in waste pipes, traps and gullies;
- carrying out minor maintenance, such as fitting draught-proofing strips if needed;
- making sure the flue is clear before lighting the fire.
If you are elderly or have a disability, we may help you if you ask us to. There will be a charge if we carry out any work for you. The charge will be in line with our recharge policy.
If there is imminent danger to either you or the property, we will carry out the repair within 24 hours.
For example: Total loss of power, burst pipes or major leaks, property insecure etc.
If you haven't done so already, please phone us immediately on 01267 234567 during office hours (8:30am - 6pm, Monday - Friday). Outside these times please call 0300 333 2222.
All out-of-hours emergencies can now be reported on the Delta Wellbeing website.
If the issue in your home is causing a major inconvenience, we will carry out the repair within 7 working days.
For example: Minor leaks, small fault to power or lighting etc.
Non-urgent repairs that cause a minor inconvenience will be carried out within 21 - 42 working days.
For example: Draughty window, broken kitchen door handle etc.
As a council tenant, you have the right to have repairs done in your home within a specific time under the Right to Repair scheme. The scheme ensures jobs, which might affect your safety or security are done quickly and easily. If the first contractor doesn't do your repair in time, please contact us.
If a second contractor, we employ on your behalf fails to complete the work in time you may be eligible for compensation.
There could be a good reason why the contractor was unable to complete the repair on time, such as if you weren't home to keep the appointment. In such cases we will not have to pay you compensation.
We will carry out safety checks on gas fires and gas or oil boilers in your home once a year. We will maintain and clean solid-fuel installations twice a year. If we do not carry out these checks we could be prosecuted.
If you do not allow us into your home to inspect these installations and carry out any repairs, you could be putting lives at risk.
We will always get in touch to arrange a convenient time to call, and to arrange access. To ensure your safety, it is very important that we can access your home to carry out these safety checks. If for any reason you need to change the appointment, please call us on 01267 234567 or email us.
If you do not give us access and do not contact us to make alternative arrangements, we can force our way into your home, without giving you further notice, to carry out the inspection or repairs. You will have to pay the costs of any repairs we need to do as a result of forcing our way into your home.
We will decorate the outside of your home when we think it is necessary. You can also decorate the outside of your home if you get our permission. However, before you start, you must tell us what colour you plan to use and we must approve the colour in writing.
- You must test smoke alarms every week and replace batteries when necessary. If you are elderly or have a disability that may prevent you from replacing the batteries, we may help you if you ask us to.
- You must keep the inside of your home free of any health risks and obstacles, and make sure it is decorated to a reasonable standard.
- You are responsible for repairing and maintaining your own equipment (such as cookers, gas fires and any improvement) you have put in yourself, unless we have agreed for us to repair and maintain it. You must make sure that your own equipment meets current safety standards or regulations.
- You must get our permission in writing before you change or add any fixture.
- You must not take down walls or make any changes to the structure of your home without first getting our permission in writing.
- You must not put up or take down garden walls, fences or hedges without getting our permission in writing.
- You must not put up boundary walls, fences, hedges or structures on an open-plan estate without getting our permission in writing.
- You must not put up any structures on your property (including sheds, garages, greenhouses, pigeon lofts, patios or conservatories) without getting our permission in writing.
- You must not build a hard standing (a driveway or a paved area you are going to park on) without our permission in writing.
If you make an improvement or change to your home without our permission in writing, we may tell you to return the property to how it was before. If you do not, we will do the work and charge you for it.
Once you have told us about what needs repairing, we will assess the problem and contact you within 3-4 working days to let you know how quickly we can carry out the work. It is important that emergency and urgent repairs are seen to first.
We will try to carry out repairs in the timescales we have set out above. Sometimes there may be delays, for instance because we cannot get materials, or we need to make further investigations and so on.
After a repair, we will leave the decoration as close as possible to how it was before we did the work. If this is not possible, we will give you a decoration allowance. If you are elderly or have a disability which prevents you from decorating, we may decorate for you if you want us to.
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