Home > Residents > Tenants Handbook > 3 - Repairs & Improvements > How long will the repair take to get done?

The length of time a repair takes will vary depending on how serious the problem is.
Emergencies – target 24 hours
Real emergencies are potentially dangerous to the occupiers, or could cause serious damage to the building.  They include:
Bad roof leaks - we will do a temporary repair, if the weather allows.
No cold water to the kitchen sink – check with neighbours first that it isn’t a more general supply problem in your area.  If this is the problem contact your local Water Company – for most tenants this will be Thames Water on 0845 920 0800
Major water leak – before ringing first try to turn off the water at the mains stop-cock – in most homes this is a tap under the sink.
No electricity – If you have a key meter, check that it is charged before you contact us.  You should also check with neighbours that there isn’t a power cut in your area.  You should also check the miniature circuit breakers (MCBs) in your fuse box.  If any of them are ‘off’, try switching them back on again.  If the MCB will not stay on, turn off and unplug all electrical appliances items on that circuit.  If there is more than one item, switch the MCB on after disconnecting each one to work out which is faulty.
Collapsed ceiling
Broken or blocked toilet
Gas leaks - report suspected gas leaks directly to Transco on 0800 111 999 rather than Hexagon, but first you should
- Turn the gas off at the meter
- Open doors and windows
- Do not smoke, use light switches or naked flames

We often have to make temporary repairs when emergencies happen at night or weekends because we cannot get the materials to carry out full repairs. The safety of you, your household and your home, is our first concern and attendance by the contractor should be within 2 hours. Our contractors will come back to repair the problem properly as soon as they can. We cannot offer an appointment, you will need to wait in until contractor calls.

Urgent Repairs – target 7 days
Urgent repairs are serious but are those that are not likely to put life or health at serious risk.  These will include:
- Toilets that will not flush – you can flush the toilet with a bucket of water while waiting for the repair to be completed
- Normal plumbing leaks
- No hot water
- No heating whatsoever, between 1st October and 31st March.
- Blocked hand basin
- Several  lights or sockets not working

Normal Repairs – target 28 days
These repairs, whilst essential, are not urgent and are given a lower priority – they include:
- Most other day to day repairs to woodwork, brickwork and plaster
- Non-urgent plumbing and electrical work

Planned Repairs
There are some repairs that can be done over a longer term basis they include:
- Some carpentry and fencing repairs
- Kitchen unit replacement; and
- Floor covering replacement

In some circumstances, we will ask the contractor to complete the work more quickly than is set out above. This may apply if you are elderly, disabled; or have children under 5 in your household.

Much of the maintenance work we do is planned up to six years ahead. So if you ask us to do a non-urgent repair, we will usually check to see if it is already on our ‘to do’ list for the near future.  If it is, we will let you know and ask you to wait.

Appointments and working hours
Normal working hours for non urgent repairs are from 8am to 6.00pm, and we will aim to make an appointment for all repairs.  Some larger repairs will take some time to complete so appointment times for those will be limited.

We are not able to offer timed appointments but we will be able to offer mornings (8am to 12 noon), afternoons 12 noon to 6pm).

Missed appointments cost time and money.  If we make an appointment for a repair or an inspection and we break that appointment, we can offer compensation of £10 unless there is a reasonable excuse for us missing the appointment.  Similarly, if you are not at home when we call for an appointment, we will recharge you £10 unless there is a reasonable explanation for not keeping your appointment.

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