What is maintenance?

Maintenance is when we do regular, major work on properties, including redecoration or substantial repairs, kitchen and bathroom replacement, electrical rewiring, heating systems upgrade, and mechanical and electrical works.

In order to deliver good value for money we usually carry out our maintenance work on groups of properties, such as a whole estate, at the same time.

We use surveys to identify first how much work an estate needs, so we can make sure we have enough money in our budget to do the work.

How can I find out if my home is due for maintenance work?

Your local office has a list of all the planned maintenance work we are planning to do in your area.

Or download a copy of our maintenance work schedule for 2011-2012:

   Planned maintenance list 2011_2012

What other types of maintenance do you do?

Day-to-day repairs are repairs that you need in your home or the communal areas but that we haven’t planned for. Please refer to the repairs handbook for details and information on these repairs.

• Find out how to report a repair
• Find out what we will repair and and long it will take us.

Gas safety

Gas safety checks are done each year. We have a legal duty to do these checks. We’ll take action if you don’t keep appointments and let us in to do these checks.

Improvements

Improvements are when we do work to add something to your property.

How will you consult me?

We will use different ways to consult you, depending on the number of properties and type of work involved. We may have a roadshow on an estate or knock on your door with details of the planned work to hear your views. We will always try to meet you. Before work starts, we’ll send you a formal letter with the programme of planned work.

What happens when the maintenance work is due?

We’ll send a letter telling you when we are planning to do the work, and giving you detailed information about it.

Next, a contractor will make an appointment with you to assess what work your home needs.

Once we have assessed the work, we will write to tell you when we intend to start. We will include a list of all the work we expect to do.

Do I get any choice?

We always try to give you a choice about fixtures and fittings. For example, you can choose your kitchen (within a certain range) and the colour of your doors, units, worktops, tiles and paintwork.

What happens if there’s a problem when the contractors are on site?

The contractor will give you a contact number. Also, we give you the number of our resident liaison officer, who will talk to you if you have any problems. One of our project managers is in charge of each contract and they can advise you on any technical problems.

What happens if there’s a problem after the contractors have gone?

The contractors guarantee all the work. If something goes wrong with their work, we will ask them to return and put it right. If work has been done in your home, please tell us when you report the fault as the guarantee may cover it.

How do you know if I am satisfied with the work?

Contractors will check that you are satisfied with the work before they leave. Our technical inspectors will also check that the work is to the standard we set out.

To get your comments on the work, we will send out surveys and also call you. Your comments are very important as they allow us to change the way we do things in order to help other residents.