Maintenance

Whether you rent or own your home, every property needs maintenance to keep it in good condition and unfortunately things will breakdown occasionally.   Our maintenance team will be pleased to attend to any maintenance issues as promptly as possible.   Please report them to our office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. or drop us an email.

Other than small repairs we require your landlords permission to have the work carried out and will then co-ordinate this with a contractor.   Contractors generally don't carry spare parts and if they need to be ordered this may cause a small delay.

Whilst your landlord is responsible for repairs to the property, some minor jobs are the responsibility of the tenant.  These include, but are not limited to:

• Replacing light bulbs/batteries/fuses
• Unblocking sinks or toilets
• Pressurising the boiler
• Keeping downpipes and gutters clear (where safely accessible)
• Testing smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors
• Cleaning windows outside and in

Tenants full obligations are detailed on your tenancy agreement.

Smoke Alarms

• we recommend you test these once a week
• replace battery if required

Mains powered smoke alarms also have a back-up battery so the alarm will work even if there is power cut.   When the battery runs low you will hear an intermittent bleep and the battery will require to be replaced.

Water hygiene

If the property has been unoccupied for over 7 days, to avoid risk you should;

• run water through each hot/cold outlet for at least 5 minutes
• hot water cylinders must be heated a minimum of 60 degrees and maintained for at least an hour
• flush all toilets
  
  

Blockages

If a toilet is blocked, first flush with a bucket of water.   If this does not work and is the only available toilet, this is considered an emergency.   If a shower/bath is blocked and there are no other washing facilities, or if drains are blocked and causing damage or health and safety risks, these are also considered emergencies.

Plumbing and guttering

Plumbing leaks are an emergency if they cannot be contained and are causing damage.  Turn water off at stopcock until a contractor attends. If the leak is from an adjacent property, contact occupants immediately. 

Heating issues

First, check your thermostat.    A small dial located on the wall somewhere around the house.

• turn the dial to 17-20 degrees
• if your radiators don't heat up, find your programmer.

The programmer will be mounted on the wall, often in the kitchen or airing cupboard.  

• check your central heating (CH) and hot water (HW) are on
• you may need to override the timer to do this
  

If the radiators are only cold at the top, they may need bled.

 Heating breakdowns are given priority and should be reported as early as possible during working hours, as contractors do not usually carry spare parts.     If there is a child under 12 months or a vulnerable adult in the property this is considered an emergency. (see emergencies)

Should a contractor attend and the fault is found to be the tenants responsibility, the invoice will be sent to the tenant for payment. Tenants may also be charged a call out charge if contractors are unable to gain access when this has been pre-arranged.