Repairing our properties

If you have a routine repair, this should be reported to the scheme manager or care home manager at the earliest opportunity when they are on duty.

Emergency repairs during office hours should be reported to the scheme manager/care home manager, including the manager who may be covering your scheme if the usual manager is away.

If you can't contact the scheme manager please call the property team on 01323 875250 (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm) or contact the emergency call centre at other times. Please report only genuine emergency repairs through the emergency call centre as the cost of works treated as an emergency is generally higher than non-emergency works and these costs are passed onto residents through the service charge.

Your scheme or care home manager will then pass the repairs request to the property team. This team then assess the priority for the repair and allocate the job to the right contractor.  The contractor will then liaise direct with the Scheme Manager, care home adminstration team, or the resident to carry out the repair at a convenient time, within the timescales that have been set. 

Generally we are responsible for maintaining the structure and exterior of your home, together with all communal areas.

Our responsibilities – as your landlord you can expect us to maintain the following, keeping them in good repair and proper working order:   

• The structure and outside of the property, including the drains, gutters and outside pipes.
• Heating and hot water if not provided by a communal facility.
• Electrical installation within your home.
• Major components, such as kitchens / bathrooms within your home.
• Windows and doors, although subject to specific lease obligations.
• Communal entrances, halls, stairways, floor coverings.
• Pest control in communal areas.
• Communal gardens, repairing site boundaries and shared fences.
• Communal boilers and heating systems.
• Communal lifts.
• Fire equipment.

Your repair responsibilities - looking after your home takes two. We'll do our bit and we need you to take care of your home too. There are also things that are your responsibility to repair and these include:

• Decorating your home and making good surface cracks.
• Repairing or replacing electric plugs, fuses, light bulbs, and sink plugs.
• Maintaining your own fittings and appliances. 
• Plumbing in your own washing machine and having your cooker and other appliances installed. 
• Fitting and maintaining TV aerials and where there is a communal aerial, you are responsible for internal sockets and connections.
• Putting up curtain rails and adapting doors to fit carpets.
• Fitting extra locks, catches or other safety devices and replacing lost keys.
• Clearing blocked sinks, basin, bath or shower waste pipes.
• Pest control inside your property.
• Dealing with condensation matters within your home.

Sheltered housing for rent and Independent Living properties

We are generally responsbile for any fixtures and fittings that we have provided, including plumbing and heating. We are not responsible for repairing and maintaining your white goods and ovens.

Leasehold properties

Your lease sets out the exact responsibilities for repairs and maintenance. Whilst we are responsible for arranging for the repairs to be carried out, the cost of the works is charged to either the service charge (for day-to-day repairs) or the sinking fund. 

We have contracts agreed with a number of different companys who specialise in property repairs and maintenance. Employees from these companies will visit your home to fix your repair.

Sonny maintenance group (SMG) - for general building services and plumbing.

TSS Facilities Ltd. - for heating and water services.

Corin Dudley Electrical Services (CDS) - for electrical services.

Active Fire Management - for fire risk assessments.

Southern Alarm Systems Ltd - for fire alarms and safety equipment.

Southern County Lift Services - for lift maintenance and repairs.

Tunstall - for door entry and pull cord systems.

We categorise repairs based on their priority and have target response times as follows:

Priority 0: emergency response - within 4 hours

This is emergency out of ours or a risk to life or property. For example, complete loss of power or water, uncontrollable burst pipes or broken windows will be treated as serious health and safety hazards and will be attended to urgently. Our priority will be to secure your well-being and to prevent serious structural damage to your home. We may have to carry out a full repair at a later date. For example, if a window is smashed, we will board it up within four hours, but a replacement may take a few days.

Priority 1: 24 hours

A repair which requires urgent attention but there is no immediate risk to life or property. Partial loss of power, lighting and total loss of heating are examples of priority 1 repairs, which will be attended to within 24 hours by our contractors. Other priority 1 repairs include severely leaking roofs, no hot water and serious plumbing leaks.

Priority 2: 7 working days

A repair which requires attention within a reasonable period. You can expect electrical repairs, such as a fault to internal lighting, TV aerials or partial loss of heating to be attended to within a week. Other priority 2 repairs include failure of communal equipment, such as washing machines in the laundry room, and re-glazing cracks in your windows. Some works, such as roof repairs, may be affected by weather conditions. When this occurs we will firstly make sure that your property is safe, then carry out a full repair when possible.

Priority 3: 20 working days

A repair which is non urgent or is part of our planned maintenance. Repairs of internal doors and dripping taps will be attended to within approximately 20 days. Blown double-glazing, blocked gutters, noisy radiators and repairs to the appearance of your property will also be attended to as non-urgent priorities.

Priority 4: 60 working days

This prority is only used for planned maintenance. Lifts, fire alarms, emergency lighting, communal water systems and emergency call systems all have planned maintenance programmes and works will be carried out throughout the year.

You will need our permission to make alterations to your home for everything other than redecoration of your walls and ceilings. Please contact us if you are considering any alterations, either contact your scheme manager or use the contact us form on the website.

If your alteration is agreed by us, you will need to use qualified and competent trades people to carry out the alteration. 

Getting your feedback about our repairs service is important to us. There are a number of ways you can give feedback:

• Complete a paper satisfaction questionnaire generated after your repair request has been completed.
• Take part in a telephone questionnaire about your repair request. We telephone a random sample of residents on a regular basis.
• Our contractors will each conduct a quality assurance survey directly with a sample of residents.
• Take part in the annual residents satsifaction survey conducted by Sussex Housing & Care.
• Contact us directly to give your feedback.

We want to make sure our properties are in the best condition possible, so you feel comfortable in your home. How we invest in and plan major repairs such as replacement kitchens, bathrooms, windows, doors, roofs and heating systems is key to achieving this.

This means we need to understand the condition our properties are in now. Therefore we carry out “stock condition” surveys to determine when in the future works will be required. We use this information to build up programmes for the next three to five years and to make sure we plan our budgets properly over the next 30 years.

When major works are to be carried out we will (together with the contractor) explain and agree the following with you:

• what the proposed work consists of;
• when it will start and how long it will take;
• discuss any colour or layout choices;
• discuss anything you need to do ahead of time (such as emptying old kitchen units); and
• discuss any particular needs you may have which might affect the works themselves or how the contractor might carry them out.

Finally we will check that the works have been carried out to a high standard and that you are happy with everything.

Here are some links to videos that give top tips to help keep your home in good repair.

• Clearing a blocked sink
• Changing a bulb in a bathroom fitting 
• Re-setting a tripped fuse
• Mould and condensation 
• Re-pressuring a boiler