Repairs and maintenance
is one of the most
important services that
we provide for our
customers. Keeping your
home in a good condition
is important to us and
we aim to provide a
responsive service that
is efficient and provides
value for money.
In this leaflet, we will set
out how you can report
repairs to us and what
you can expect from us
when you do this. We
will also describe how we
set timescales for work to
be completed and what
our responsibilities are for
maintaining your home.
n We will repair the structure and outside of rented homes.
n We will repaint the outside of buildings.
n We will keep the water supply, drainage, heating, gas and electricity systems in good, safe working order.
n We will carry out gas safety checks every year, in line with the law.
n We will maintain any shared areas, such as shared gardens and stairwells.
n If you live in one of our retirement housing schemes, we will decorate one room every five years.
Our service
standards –
what you can
expect from us
2
What we need
from you
n You should allow our contractors and surveyors into your home to carry out essential work.
n You should take responsibility for minor repairs inside your home like filling small decoration cracks.
n You should replace light bulbs, fluorescent strip lights and fuses.
n You should decorate the inside of your property. (If you are a temporary resident, you must get our permission first.)
n You should unblock any toilets or sinks you have blocked.
n You should make sure that any gas appliances you own are regularly serviced.
n If you have your own garden or other outside area, you should keep it neat and tidy.
Reporting repairs
You can report repairs in a number of ways.
n Phone our Customer Service Team on 0800 980 9272 or 01865 773000
n In person at our reception
n E-mail us at
info@greensquaregroup.com
n Through our website at www.greensquaregroup.com
When you report a repair to us, please refer to the pictures and notes in your repairs handbook. This will help you to accurately describe the problem and help us to order the correct repair and give it the right priority. When you report a repair, we may send out a surveyor to investigate the problem. We will tell you how soon we will carry out the work. We will also give you a job reference number and the name of the person who will be carrying out the repair, if you need this information. If possible, we will offer you an appointment for the tradesperson to come out. We will send you written confirmation of all this, along with a repairs satisfaction questionnaire so you can give us feedback about our service. When you receive this information, it’s important to check the details to make sure that we have ordered the correct work and arranged a convenient appointment for you.
Out-of-hours repairs
If you need an emergency repair outside our normal office hours, please call 0800 980 9272 or 01865 773000 and your call will be diverted to our out-of-hours call handling service. The repairs handbook explains what we class as an emergency.
How we prioritise
repairs
We have targets for carrying out different types of repairs. The targets are based on national targets which many housing associations and councils use.
n Emergency repairs – carried out within 24 hours
n Urgent repairs – carried out within 7 calendar days
n Routine repairs – carried out within 28 calendar days
However, we want to match or improve on these targets. Last year, our customers had their urgent repairs carried out in an average of four working days and routine repairs in eight working days
n Programmed work (or major work) – timescales vary depending on the work needed
Emergency repairs
To avoid putting the health and safety of customers and other people at risk, and to prevent serious damage to the building, we will need to carry out some repairs within 24 hours, although in some cases we will only be able to carry out a temporary repair within this timeframe. Typical examples of emergency repairs are:
n a major water leak;
n a total loss of electricity;
n gas leaks not covered by the gas supplier;
n fire or major structural damage;
n a total loss of heating and hot water (between October and March);
n a total loss of sewage drainage;
n making outside doors and windows secure;
n removing offensive graffiti;
n unblocking a toilet (if it is the only toilet in the property);
n repairing broken lifts; and
n repairing alarm call and warden call systems.
Urgent repairs
Urgent repairs are when there is a serious inconvenience or the possibility of damage to a building, but it is not an repairs 3
www.greensquaregroup.com 4 emergency and does not put people
in danger. Typical examples of urgent repairs are:
n a loss of heating and hot water (between April and September);
n minor leaks that cannot be contained;
n losing part of the electric supply or lighting;
n repairing entry-phone systems that are not working; and
n repairing taps which cannot be turned on.
Routine repairs
These are repairs which are not causing a danger to people’s health and safety. Typical examples of routine repairs are:
n leaking guttering;
n problems with door and window locks that do not make the home less secure;
n replacing doors;
n repairs to flooring;
n plastering work;
n repairs to worktops and kitchen units;
n dripping taps;
n repairs to extractor fans;
n a faulty doorbell (if powered by the mains); and
n faulty sockets (unless they are
considered to be dangerous). Programmed work (or major work)
These can be repairs, replacements or improvement work to buildings or your home. We plan a programme of this work as it offers better value for money. Typical examples are replacing roofs, kitchens or doors and windows. We aim to give you plenty of notice before we begin programmed work.
Appointments
For some routine and urgent repairs, we can make an
appointment for the tradesperson to come out on a specific day. You can choose either a morning or an afternoon slot. It is important that you keep any appointment we make with you. If you make an appointment then find that you cannot keep it, you must contact us as soon as possible so the contractor does not have a wasted journey. This also helps you to avoid being charged for a missed appointment.
repairs
Handyperson
We have a handyperson service for customers at our sheltered sites who, because of disability or ill health, are not able to carry out minor repairs. Please contact our Customer Service Team for more details.
Charging you for repairs
If we carry out repairs that you are responsible for, or repair any damage you have caused, we will charge you for the work. This is referred to as a ‘recharge’. Typical examples are if you:
n lock yourself out of your home;
n block sinks and toilets;
n smash windows; or
n pull radiators off the wall.
Resident satisfaction
questionnaire
We value your feedback and if you take the time to return the repairs satisfaction surveys you receive, we can use them to help improve our repairs service. Whenever we receive a questionnaire back we enter it into a prize draw with a chance to win high-street vouchers.
If we don’t meet our
timescales
We do our best to carry out work as quickly as possible. If we haven’t carried out your repairs by the date we have given you, please contact our Customer Service Team. They will investigate what has happened and arrange a new time for the work to be completed.
If we fail to complete the repair by the second date, you may be able to claim compensation.
We will not pay compensation if you are responsible for carrying out the repair, have caused the damage yourself, do not allow the tradesperson into your home to do the work or fail to keep an arranged appointment. There may also be circumstances outside our control which make it impossible for us to meet our target times – for example, very bad weather, not having the correct parts available, having to carry out specialist work, or having to order materials direct from the manufacturer.
www.greensquaregroup.com
GreenSquare
customer service
contacts
0800 980 9272
(Freephone)
01865 773000
You can talk to our Customer Service Team about all your housing queries, including rent arrears and repairs.
Please have your tenancy number ready when you call – you’ll find this on your rent statement.
Our offices are open from 8.30am to 5pm, weekdays or you can phone our customer service centre from 8.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday (not including bank holidays). When our office is closed, we provide an out-of-hours emergency repairs service and a non-urgent message service, which you can use by calling the numbers above.
If you would like to have any part of this explained or translated, or in a different format such as in larger print, or on audio tape, please contact us on 0800 980 9272 to discuss your needs.
Ako biste željeli objašnjenje ili prijevod nekog dijela, ili drugačiji format, kao što je izdanje sa većim slovima ili na zvučnoj traci, molimo vas, nazovite nas na 0800 980 9272 i priopćite nam vaše potrebe.
Jeśli wymagają Państwo wyjaśnienia jakiegoś fragmentu albo jego tłumaczenia, albo w innym formacie, takim jak duży druk, albo na kasecie audio, proszę się z nami skontaktować pod numerem telefonu 0800 980 9272, aby przedyskutować Państwa potrzeby.
244 Barns Road, Oxford OX4 3RW
Freephone 0800 980 9272 • Telephone 01865 773000 Email info@greensquaregroup.com
www.greensquaregroup.com
GreenSquare ISIS area ISSUED:
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