repairs handbook

Your Repair Handbook

www.coastandcountryhousing.org.uk

Repairs Handbook // www.chZlmZg]\hngmkrahnlbg`.org.uk

Quick reference guide

You can report a repair to us in two main ways:

1. Online at www.coastandcountryhousing.org.uk Follow the on screen instructions to identify the repair and log the details. We will take it from there.

2. By phoning our Repairs Line on 01642 771300. When you call please provide us with your full contact details and full details of the repair.

Contents

Contents

1. Using this guide 04

2. Our commitment to you 05 - Help us improve our service 05

3 Who is responsible for what repairs? 06 - Our responsibility 06 - Your responsibility 06 - Gas servicing 16

4. Reporting a repair 17 - How to report 17 - What happens next? 19 - When are appointments available? 19 - Using the Out of Hours/Emergency Repairs Service 20 - Cancelling appointments 21

5. How soon will my repair be carried out? 22 - Emergency repairs 22 - Urgent repairs 22 - Routine repairs 22 - Planned repairs 22 - How can I get my repair dealt with sooner? 23

6. Charging for repairs 24 - Repairs that we will charge you for 24 - National Compensation Scheme 25

7. Advice on home safety and security 26 - What to do if you smell gas or fumes 27

- Leaking, burst, frozen or blocked pipes 35

Repairs Handbook // ppp,\hZlmZg]\hngmkrahnlbg`,hk`,nd

We want to make sure that all of your home repairs are sorted out as soon as possible.

1. Using this guide

The guide will help achieve this by explaining:

- Which repairs are your responsibility as a tenant

- Which repairs we can carry out for you

can send the right tradesman, with the right

- Different ways you can report the problem, like our website – meaning you can report a repair quickly and easily 24 hours a day.

“We hope this guide helps make repairs to your home a quick and easy experience. By following these instructions you can help us respond to repairs quickly and get things back to normal for you as soon as possible.”

2. Our commitment to you

2. Our commitment to you

We are committed to providing all of our customers with the best possible serviceand minimum disruption.

For this reason, all of our staff and contractors are bound by our Ten Point Customer Charter to:

1. Introduce themselves and provide proof of identity

2. Only enter a property if an adult is present

3. Explain the nature and purpose of the job before they begin work

4. Behave in a professional manner at all times

5. Neither use bad language, smoke nor play loud music

6. Deliver high quality work with excellent customer service, at an agreed time and date

7. Take care with your property and possessions and keep your home secure at all times

8. Comply with our Equality & Diversity policy

9. Follow health and safety codes of practice

10. Clear any rubbish from your property as a result of the work


Our responsibility – the legal bit

3. Who is responsible for what repairs ?

We have legal responsibilities as your landlord to carry out certain repairs. Laws can sometimes change, which means some of the areas we are responsible for might change as well. This could mean that a repair we might have carried out for you in the past is now your responsibility or vice versa. If you are ever in any doubt about whose

we will always be happy to talk you through it.

Your responsibility

This hardly needs saying, but because you take pride in your home we expect you to take care of your home – by reporting any repairs as soon as possible and making sure that no one else damages your home. There are also some repairs that are your responsibility as a tenant.

The table on the following pages provides a list of common repairs and show who is responsible for that repair. Before you contact us please check the list so that you are sure the repair is Coast & Country’s responsibility. This will save you time in

if the repair you need is not listed, please call 01642 771300.

3. Who is responsible for what repairs?

Moving into your new home

Items which the Company will consider leaving in an empty property and taking future responsibility for include:

Showers Kitchens Bathrooms Doors Alarms

If these items break they may only be replaced with standard/available items and the Company will not make good any decorative wall covers, for example tiles or wallpaper.

Items which the Company will consider leaving in the property but gifting to the new tenant with a

these include:

Sheds

Fire surrounds Paving Water butts




In line with our tenancy agreement, tenants have the right to make alterations and improvements to their homes with prior written consent. Whilst they remain a tenant they will be responsible for the repair and maintenance of these items.

Examples of improvements often carried out are:

Electric showers Sheds Fire surrounds

Kitchens Bathrooms Doors

Alterations to your home

3. Repair Table

3. Repair table

Adaptations disabled people

Adaptations for disabled people as a result of recommendations by Social Services

YOU

Bathrooms Baths, bath panels, taps, shower tray, toilet

below

chains for sinks, basins & baths

Note 1 - If the toilet is blocked because of inappropriate disposal, it is your responsibility.

Note 2 - We will only replace a toilet seat

After that, it will be your responsibility.

Decoration Internal decoration, external decoration

removing & replacing radiators for decorating

US


3. Repair Table

Doors

extra security door locks, door name plates, door adjustment following new carpets

see note 3 below

Door entry systems, door frames, door

Note 3 - You will be responsible if you lose your keys or have them stolen, or if you are locked out. You will also be responsible for any repairs as a result of gaining access.

YOUUS

Electric plugs, electric meter and supply of electricity

see note 4 on page 11

Wired in smoke alarms

Battery operated carbon monoxide detectors, battery

Electrical items

3. Repair Table

Coast & Country

Extractor fans, storage heaters, emergency

point, pumps,immersion heater, spin dryer

Storage heaters

Cookers, cooker – disconnection and reconnection

starters are your responsibility.

Note 5 - We will assist OAPs as and when requested.

YOUUS

3. Repair table


3. Repair Table

Floors

Floor tiles - see note 6 below

Lino & Carpet

YOUUS

Note 6 - We will remove tiles free of charge and will make sure that a

coverings (including laminate) remains your responsibility.

Gas Pipes, gas heating, gas water heating, radiators, valves,time clocks and thermostats

Supply of gas and gas meter

3. Repair Table

normal wear & tear

Kitchen cupboards, cupboard drawers, cupboard door catches, handles and hinges

Note 7 - Any gas work undertaken in your home must be carried out by a ‘Gas safe’ registered person.

YOUUS

Kitchens

Communal areas such as lifts and stairs, clothes posts provided by C&C, sheds provided by C&C, retaining walls in garden

Garages excluding tenant erected units Wooden Sheds

Outside the property

Pipes and drainssurrounds, gully grids, drain blockage

3. Repair table


3. Repair Table

Wooden Shed Garages excluding tenant erected units

YOUUS

Roofs TV aerials except for those installed in communal areas

Chimney sweeping

Chimney/chimney stacks, roof structure and coverings, guttering, rainwater, pipes

roof light

Plumbing Water supply - internal & from the ferrule

Water supply - external & up to the ferrule - contact Northumbrian Water

Hot and cold storage tanks, wash hand basin – see note 8 below

Note 8 - Where the basin is blocked because of inappropriate disposal, clearing the blockage is your responsibility.

Staircases Staircases, banisters & handrails

3. Repair Table

Main air vents, external walls & rendering, foundations,canopies over doors and windows, major plaster work,walls tiles and grouting

Minor repairs to plaster work

YOUUS

Walls, canopies & ceilings

Window locks to provide extra security, glazing – see note 9 below

window sash cord

Note 9 - We will replace glazing when you have been the victim of a crime, and you have been given a crime reference number,

Windows

3. Repair table


Gas servicing To keep your heating system in perfect working order, and you and your home safe, we need to carry out a gas appliance service each year. It is your

registered gas engineers reasonable access to your home to carry out this service.

Coast & Country has a duty to take care of the health of our employees whilst they are working.We therefore ask you to do everything you can to keep your home smoke free whilst our employees are attending a repair. If you don’t assist us with this our workforce has the right to leave without under taking any work, this will delay the completion of your repair.

No smoking

4. Reporting a repair


Stop! Before you report a repair make sure that you have checked:

1. Is the repair the responsibility of Coast & Country? (page 6)

2. You have your contact details and know when we can access the property to carry out the repair.

You can report a repair in any of the following ways:

1. Online at www.cch-online.org.uk where you will be guided through identifying the repair and logging the details.

2. Phone our Repairs Line on 01642 771300. A 24 hour service is provided for emergency repairs. All other repairs can be reported between 8:30am and 5pm, Monday to Thursday

How to report



3.

4. Fax on 01642 771392

5. Text to 07860 017148

- Your name and address

- A contact telephone number

- The times when it is convenient for us to carry out the repair

- Whether you would like a free text service reminder of your appointment.

When you contact us, we will ask for:


What happens next?

- As soon as you report your repair we’ll agree a repair appointment with you based on how urgent the repair is.

- If you report your repair online, by fax, or out of hours we’ll contact you to arrange an appointment as soon as we receive your request.

- date and time of your appointment where appropriate. You can also choose to receive a free text message reminder of your appointment.

Repairs will normally be carried out during normal working hours – 8am to 5pm, Monday to Thursday (4pm on a Friday). Emergency Repairs will be completed outside of these hours – for details see page 20-21

When are appointments available?




When arranging your repair appointment you can choose from the following times:

- All day – anytime between 8am and 5pm, (4pm on a Friday)

Morning – anytime between 8am and 12 noon

- Afternoon – anytime between12.30pm and 5pm (4pm on a Friday)

- School run – anytime between 10am and 2pm

This service provides out of hours emergency repairs cover. This service is only available where the repair poses a serious health and safety risk or where there is a serious danger to people or property.

Using the Out of Hours Emergency Repairs Service



The emergency service operates between:

- 5pm and 8.30am Monday to Thursday

- 4.30pm on Friday to 8.30am on Monday

- 24 hour cover on all Bank Holidays

When reporting an emergency please provide as much information as possible about the nature of the emergency. Where the repair is your

still be possible to call out a Coast & Country engineer, although we may charge for the service depending on circumstances.

If you need to change the time of your appointment please call us and let us know so we can re-arrange it.

If we attend an appointment and can’t gain access to your property it wastes time and money. We want to provide you with the best service possible and a waste of our resources may prevent us from providing an improved service.


5. How soon will my repair be carried out?

As soon as you report your repair we will prioritise it based on theinformation you provide. The most urgent repairs will be carried

Priority may be given to vulnerable residents based on an understanding of their needs. We will carry out every repair as soon as we can, but as a minimum we guarantee the following time scales

1. Emergency repairs - within 4 hours Where there is a risk to health and safety or a real danger to people or property. Includes Out of Hours Emergency Repairs Service e.g. a complete loss of electrics.

2. Urgent repairs - within 3 working days

inconvenience to you, but does not pose a danger e.g. no hot water.

3. Routine repairs - within 15 working days

inconvenience e.g. a partial loss of electrics – up to 2 sockets or lights not working.

4. Planned repairs - within 45 working days Where work can be planned into a wider programme of repairs. Includes planned maintenance such as repairs to fencing, garages or footpaths, and work carried out on a regular basis like lift servicing, clearing gutters or gas


safety checks e.g guttering work – cleaning out or replacing.

The best way to get your repair dealt with is to report it as soon as it becomes a problem and to make sure you provide us with all the information

It is important that you do not exaggerate the urgency of your repair to get it dealt with sooner. Emergency repairs cost more to carry out than other types, so if you log an unnecessary emergency repair you may prevent us from attending a real emergency.

It is also possible that if you exaggerate the priority of your repair, the extra costs incurred with the work could be passed back to you.


How can I get my repair dealt with sooner?


6. Charging for repairs

Sometimes there may be a charge forcarrying out a repair. this may be if we carry out work that is your responsibility, if we carry outadditional work at an extra cost or if the work is required as a result of negligence.

Why do Coast & Country have a recharge policy?We want to ensure that we are clear and consistent with tenants about what repairs we are responsible for and what repairs you, as a tenant, are responsible for.

The repairs and maintenance service provided is funded from rents paid by all of our tenants. To be fair and consistent to all we will recharge those individuals who neglect their homes or cause willful damage.

Repairs that we will charge you for- When we carry out work that is your

responsibility e.g. replacing lost keys.

- When we undertake additional work at an extra cost e.g. additional fencing.

- When we carry out work that is our responsibility but has been caused by your negligence e.g. replacing damaged doors.

We will always tell you about any charge before we carry out the work and try to give you a rough estimate of the cost. For emergencies, you will receive the bill after completion. For other work, we may ask for payment before the work is under taken.

National Compensation schemeSome small urgent repairs are covered by the National Compensation Scheme. This means we will carry out qualifying repairs quickly and free of charge. If these repairs are not completed after two requests, and you have provided full access to your home for the repair, you may be entitled to compensation. If you think your repair might qualify under the National Compensation Scheme please give us a call on 01642 771300.




Stay safe! Around 35 people die in the UK each year as a result of faulty gas appliances. Don’t let it happen to you.

engineers need to carry out a gas safety check on your property once a year. We will make every effort to arrange appointments that are convenient to you, so please co-operate with us and allow us access to your home.

The law says that, as your landlord, we have to carry out these checks on all of our appliances in our properties. We have to do this by law – as a result we can, as a last resort, take legal action to gain access to your property to carry out safety checks, this could mean additional costs for you.

7. Advice on home safety and security

Gas servicing

During the gas service we will also service your smoke alarm.

- Phone Transco immediately on freephone 0800 111999 – they will deal with any report of a gas leak free of charge.

- Contact Coast & Country on (01642) 771300.

- If possible, turn off gas supply at the meter UNLESS the meter is located in a cellar or

basement, in which case, DO NOT

- DO NOT turn the gas back on until the escape has been repaired and you are told to do so.

- Turn off gas appliances. DO NOT use until a gas engineer says you can.

- Open all windows and doors to ventilate the property.

- DO NOT use any electrical appliances or switch on or off any switches.

- DO NOT smoke.



What to do if you smell gas or fumes


Your home will have either an electrical consumer unit or a fuse board, which supplies power to all the electrical devices in your home.

- It has a main ON/OFF

- It may also have a “trip switch” or RCD

area of the house they are supplying i.e lights up, lights down, cooker etc.

- In normal conditions, all these circuit breakers should be switched to the ON position.

- In the case of a fault, one of the circuit breakers will switch to the off position. This will help you identify where the fault is.

1. Check that there has not been a power cut

or a lack of credit on a prepay meter.

2. Turn off all circuits if controlled by MCBs.


Electricity consumer units (Fuse Board)

If you lose all power:

3. Reset the switch to the ON position, and reset each MCB in turn.

4. If the loss of power is due to a faulty circuit, that OFF

to turn it on again. If this happens, please report the fault to us on (01642) 771300.

If none of your plug sockets work, but other circuits are still working, it may be because one of your appliances has tripped the switch.

1. Unplug all appliances.

2. At the consumer unit or fuse board reset the MCB, which supplies power to the sockets.

3. Begin to plug your appliances back in one by one.

4. If one of your appliances is faulty, it will trip the switch and you will need to repair or replace this appliance.

5. If the circuit will NOT reset, with ALL appliances unplugged, call us on (01642) 771300 as there may be a fault with the circuit.



If you lose power to your plug sockets:


lights lose power, an individual circuit breaker may have tripped or a light bulb may have blown.

If your lighting is controlled by MCBs, reset the tripped MCB, test each light switch and replace any blown light bulbs. If your lighting MCB won’t reset, call us on (01642) 771300.

Condensation is caused by too much moisture in the air. If condensation occurs regularly in your home it can cause damp and mould.

Cooking, bathing as well as washing and dr ying clothes are all common causes of condensation. You can reduce condensation in your home by following these simple steps:

- When cooking, cover boiling pans, and make sure there is enough ventilation by using an extractor fan or opening a vent or window. Make sure your kitchen door is closed to keep moisture out of other areas of your home.


If you lose power to your lights:

Damp and condensation

- Tumble dr yers must be vented to the outside, either through an opened window, or an approved hole in the wall.

- Whenever you can, dry clothes outside. When this isn’t possible dry them in the bathroom with an extractor fan turned on or a window open to

- When you run a bath keep the bathroom door closed to stop moisture reaching other areas of the house.

- Try and keep the temperature in your home fairly constant.

- Increase ventilation in your home. Open trickle vents on windows or open a window if it is safe to do so.

If you would like more information call

“Controlling Condensation and Mould in Your Home”.




Door entry systems are generally found in blocks of

more security by controlling who has access to the

To give visitors access, you can operate the main external door by pressing the door entry button in

When you sign your tenancy you will be given a key fob and shown how the system works. Replacement or additional fobs can be obtained, but you may have to pay for them.

It is very important that the communal entrance door is kept locked at all times and is never propped open. If you notice a fault you should call us immediately on 01642 771300

If you live in a block:

your family and make sure you know what to do in


Door Entry Systems

Fire SafetyIn the event of

If you live in a house or bungalow:

Close internal doors – closed doors can hold back

Follow your escape plan and evacuate everyone from the building immediately. Don’t go back inside for any reason.

Dial 999 from a mobile or from a neighbour’s phone.

Smoke detectors need to be cleaned and tested regularly to make sure they will operate effectively. Most smoke detectors can be cleaned using a soft brush adaptor on the end of a vacuum cleaner. It is important that they should remain free from dust and grease. Care should be taken not to damage any of the internal parts. Never allow a smoke detector which is mains operated to become wet.

Asbestos was widely used in construction during

resistant Properties. As a result, many Coast & Country properties built between 1900 and 1999 contain some asbestos. At this time there was no



Smoke Detectors

Asbestos



awareness of the risk to health posed by some forms of asbestos if handled incorrectly.

into the air or threaten your health if they are left undamaged. There is only a risk to health if they are disturbed by building work.

We believe it is important to let you know where asbestos may be present in your home. By working together, we can keep the risk posed by asbestos to a minimum.

Take care with DIY!

Asbestos is dangerous if it is mis-handled, broken, drilled or cut. If you are planning any DIY work in

At Coast & Country we have our own team of asbestos trained engineers with the skills and experience to remove any asbestos that you come across or before our own trades carry out repairs on your home.

Places in your home where you might come across asbestos include:

- Some gas central heating boiler units

- Ceiling and roof tiles

What to do when:

Pipes leak

- Place a dish or bowl under the leak.

- Pull back the carpets.

- Lay down newspaper or towels to absorb the dampness.



Leaking, burst, frozen or blocked pipes



Pipes burst

- Turn off the water at the main stopcock, and any gate valves from the water tank.

- Switch off any water heaters.

- Open all taps to drain water from the system.

Pipes freeze

- Turn off the water at the main stop cock and open the cold taps.

- It is best to leave the pipes frozen but you may try to thaw the pipe e.g. using hot water bottles or a hair dryer.

- DO NOT USE A BLOW TORCH.

- Take care to thaw from one end and not from the middle.

Ceilings bulge

- To minimise the risk of a section of ceiling falling down, place a bucket directly under the bulge to retain any water that may fall.

- Where it is possible, and safe to do so, puncture the ceiling with a small object to allow the water to escape and collect in the bucket.

- DO NOT TOUCH.

- Turn off electricity at the consumer unit.

Clearing a sink or bath blockage

- Remove most of the water using a suitable container.

to seal the exit – this will help create a vacuum when a plunger is used and prevent water under pressure exiting the system.

- Place a plunger over the drain hole.



Repairs Handbook // www.cch-online.org.uk


six times.

- Remove the plunger and note if the water drains more quickly.

- If it does not, repeat the process several times or until the blockage is clear.

Clearing a blocked W.C.

- If the pan is already full remove most of the water into a suitable container using a jug or bowl.

- Push the toilet brush or plunger to the bottom of the pan and pump up and down vigorously about 10 times. this creates a vacuum and pressure which may shift the blockage.

blockage has gone. You may need to repeat the

normally.

- Do not use plungers with a metal disk, as they may chip or crack the toilet bowl.

Coast & Country are committed to providing customer focused quality homes and services, realising our vision to provide homes that people choose to live in.

We understand that your repairs service is important to you and we want to make sure we provide the best service possible. So why not get involved and help us improve?

Property & Assets have a proactive focus group, which has been helping improve our service since 2009. We are always looking for new members to join and would love to hear from you.

If you’re interested in joining please contact our Community Investment Team on 01642 771408.

Our commitment to you

01642 771300

[email protected]

14 Ennis Square, Dormanstown, Redcar, TS10 5JR

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