Request a repair to a council property

You can request a repair for most issues relating to council properties online or by phone.

Request a repair online

Take time to choose the repair description that best matches the issue you have, and please do not add multiple repairs for different trades on the same order.

When you request a repair, we will ask you for:

• details about the problem
• the address of the property
• your contact details
• a date and time for your appointment
   

Request a repair by phone

When you call us to request a repair, please tell us:

• your contact details
• your property reference number (from your rent voucher book)
• what and where the repair is
• when someone can call to do the repair
• whether you have any particular needs (such as hearing difficulties or needing extra time to get to the door)
• whether anyone in the household has Covid-19 or is self-isolating

Timescales 

Your repair will be allocated a timescale for completion based on the information you give us.

Emergency repairs

Emergency repairs include works to burst pipes, boarding up of doors and windows, gas leaks and total electrical failure. We attend emergency repairs within 4 hours. These have to be made online and cannot be made through this webpage. We don’t make appointments for emergency repairs and expect an adult to remain in the property until the repair is made safe.

Urgent repairs

Urgent repairs include heating breakdowns where you have no other form of heating, replacement door locks and blocked drains. We attend to urgent repairs within 24 hours and do not make appointments. Urgent repairs have to be made online and cannot be made through this webpage.

Appointable repairs

Appointable repairs include work to loose fitting doors, windows and floor boards, leaking guttering and faulty light or electric sockets. Routine repairs can take up to 55 working days but will be completed as soon as possible.

You can choose from the following appointment slots:

• 8am to 4pm (all day appointment)
• 8am to midday (morning appointment)
• 8am to 9:30am (early morning appointment)
• 9:30am to 2:30pm (school run appointment)
• midday to 4pm (afternoon appointment)

Planned repairs

Planned repairs include manufactured items such as external doors or windows and large amounts of plastering. They can take up to 55 working days and we will contact you with a suitable appointment.
 

Tenant responsible repairs

Tenants are responsible for the following repairs:

• new light bulbs
• frozen pipes
• toilets seats
• extra sockets or moving sockets

If you are unsure as to what repairs are your responsibility, please call us.

Getting ready for your repair

Ask for an identity card before you let anyone into your home. Please call us to double check if you are not sure or to set up a password.

When we visit your home, help us to get the work done quickly and safely by: 

• making sure that someone is home for the appointment 
• allowing contractors to get on with their work without unnecessary distraction
• clearing work areas and arranging for furniture to be moved or floor coverings taken up if necessary
• not smoking whilst our contractors and staff are in your property

Responsibility for repairs

Your tenancy conditions (You and Your Home leaflet) lists the repairs that we as your landlord are responsible for and the minor repairs that you as the tenant are responsible for.

You must look after your home and put right any damage that you, a member of your family or a guest in your house has caused either deliberately or through neglect or carelessness. If you do not, we will repair the damage and charge you for the work. This is a Rechargeable Repair.

If there is doubt about how the damage was caused, we will come and check before we make a decision.

This might include:

• alterations carried out to your property without permission
• broken doors, door frames or window frames
• lost keys or replacement locks
• forced entry
• broken kitchen units, toilets, baths or basins
• broken electrical fittings

We do not carry out work on your own electric fires or electric heating systems.

The Handyperson Service 

If you are a tenant and you are 60 years old or over, disabled, or suffer from severe health problems our free Handyperson service can help you with jobs such as:

• fixing curtain rails
• fitting shelves
• checking and fitting battery operated smoke alarms
• fitting additional door locks or chains
• hanging pictures, mirrors, clocks and so on
• changing light bulbs
• fitting wireless solar security lights
• moving furniture within your home
• securing carpets or trailing wires
• assembling small pieces of flat pack furniture

These are just a few examples of the things we can do, so it’s always a good idea to ask us if we can help. We are not able to help with wallpapering.

Right to repair scheme

For certain types of repairs you can arrange to have the work carried out yourself if:

• you have ordered a repair 
• the value of the repair is less than £250
• the repair has not been completed in the time promised
• you use a contractor on the Council's approved contractor list

If you want to claim, please complete the Right to repair notice of claim form.

After giving us your notice of claim, you can get an approved contractor to do it for you unless:

• the repair is done
• you receive a letter denying your Right to Repair. This letter should be sent within 10 working days (or 5 days if the repair should have taken a week or less)

When the repairs you want to claim for are finished, please complete the Right to repair notice of completion form.

Feedback on the repairs service

We are committed to providing you with an excellent repairs service. If you are unhappy with the quality of a repair, or with any other aspect of our service, please let us know and we’ll do our best to put it right. 

If you have any other feedback or want to make a compliment about our service, we would like to hear from you too.