What repairs will the City of London do?
How to report a repair
How quickly will a repair be done?
Repairing lifts
Alterations and improvements
Removing graffiti
Emergency out of hours repairs
Improvements
Energy efficiency
Decorating
What repairs will the City of London
do?
We will maintain and repair your home and estate. We are
responsible for the following:
The structure and exterior of the building -
this includes
- the roof, chimneys and chimney stacks
- foundations and external walls
- the drains, gutters and all external pipes
- external doors, window sills, frames and glass
- boundary walls, fences, pathways, steps and other entrances to
the building
- playgrounds and play equipment
Inside your home (tenanted properties only) -
this includes
- the plumbing system, including pipe work, tanks, stopcocks,
taps, baths, sinks, basins, cisterns and toilet fittings
- internal doors and their frames, skirting boards and kitchen
cupboards
- central-heating systems, immersion heaters and gas or electric
water heaters
- electrical wiring, plug sockets, light fittings and switches
and entry phones
Electrical wiring in your home and in landlord's communal areas
is inspected at least every five years to ensure that the
conformity and safety of the system is maintained.
Shared parts of blocks of flats or houses
These include corridors, stairways and entrances, and shared
facilities like television aerial systems, entry phones, rubbish
chutes, lifts and stairway lighting.
Your responsibility
We are not responsible for repairing or replacing any item that has
been damaged on purpose or neglected. If we do carry out these
repairs, you may have to pay for them. Neither are we responsible
for repairing or maintaining any fitting or improvement that you
have made to your home.
How to
report a repair
To report a repair, please phone the Inspace free phone number
0800 085 0423 or email for non urgent repairs
cityoflondon.repairs@inspace.co.uk
Inspace will give you a receipt when you report a repair. Sometimes
we will not be able to arrange the work immediately. This may be
because the repair is complicated and we need to inspect it first.
In this case we will make arrangements for a surveyor or
Maintenance Officer to visit your home. If our contractor or
officer calls when you are out, they will leave a card. You should
then contact them to arrange another time for them to call.
To carry out repairs we may need access to your home. In many
cases, the contractor will arrange an appointment with you. They
will give you at least 24 hours' notice. But in an emergency this
will not apply and we will deal with the repair as quickly as
possible.
Our contractors and staff always carry identification, which you
should ask to see. It shows a phone number to call if you want to
check who they are. Gas, electricity and water company
representatives carry similar identification. They should also have
an official form (or 'job sheet') with them.
If in doubt, do not let anyone
in.
How quickly will a repair be
done?
The time taken depends on the sort of repair you need. We have
four different categories, from emergencies where there is a danger
to the public or property to non urgent repairs like replacing a
bath panel. In special circumstances, for example if an elderly or
disabled person is involved, we may give a repair higher
priority.
Satisfaction questionnaire
After we have done your repair we will contact you by telephone
and send you a satisfaction questionnaire. This asks for your
comments on the completed job and how our staff and contractors
treated you. Please return this form.
Right to repair
You may have this right if the work has not started by the end
of the time limit we have set, or if we have not carried out the
repair within a reasonable time and you have allowed us reasonable
access. It is a complicated procedure and applies only to some
repairs inside your home. You can get more information on the rules
of this scheme from your Area Housing Manager. If you are unhappy
with the length of time it took us to complete your repair, you can
submit a complaint and you may be eligible for compensation.
Repairing lifts
Your Resident Estate Officer reports lift breakdowns to the lift
company. We always give lift repairs high priority. If spare parts
are available, the lift will be repaired on the same day. If you
become trapped in a lift, press the alarm button. Your Resident
Estate Officer will arrange for help as soon as possible.
Alterations and improvements
All residents can carry out minor repairs and improvements to
their home as long as they obtain our permission first. We will
usually give permission so long as the alteration does not affect
the structure and the resident agrees to comply with any conditions
that we have made. If residents would like further information or
wish to discuss any alternations they wish to undertake they should
contact their Area Housing Manager. The current procedure is as
follows:
- All tenants or lessees must provide full details of the
proposed works to their Area Housing Manager including any drawings
and specifications required in order to consider their application.
This also applies to requests for retrospective consent by tenants
or lessees. There is an application fee payable for retrospective
Landlord's approval applications.
- The proposed works should be acknowledged by the AHM within
five working days and residents will also be sent a copy of our
standard terms and conditions relating to alterations and
improvements.
- If the Area Housing Manager is happy with the proposed works
and satisfied with the information provided by the resident or
their contractor then full details should be referred to our
Technical Division for technical approval.
- If further information is required by the Technical Division
one of their officers they will liaise directly with the resident
or their contractor directly.
- If the tenant or lessee still wishes to proceed with the
proposed alteration or improvement they must provide any further
information required and copies of all required consents before the
Technical Division will consider the application further. Failure
to comply within 28 days will automatically result in their
application being declined.
- Once technical approval is granted the Area Housing Manager
will then write to the tenant or lessee with Landlords
Consent.
For further info please contact us by
email or
tel: 020 7029 3909.
Removing graffiti
Your estate staff will remove graffiti. If they cannot, we will
ask a contractor to remove offensive or abusive graffiti within
three days and other graffiti within seven days.
Emergency out of hours
repairs
We provide an emergency repairs service for work that cannot
wait until the Estate Office is open again the following day.
Please telephone your local estate office and the call will be
automatically diverted to the duty Resident Estate Officer.
Examples:
- Complete loss of electricity
- Locked out - or insecure locks
- Serious leaks and structural damage
- Fires
- Blocked toilets (where there is only one WC)
We will also consider your individual circumstances, for example
if you are elderly or living on your own. Sometimes, we may only be
able to carry out a temporary repair and the full repair will be
completed during normal working hours. Furthermore we will:
- deal with your repair request quickly, politely and accurately
based on the information given.
- ensure that you and your home are treated with courtesy, care
and respect at all times.
- ensure that the work is done on time, to a high standard and to
your satisfaction.
Improvements
You can carry out most repairs and improvements to your home as
long as you get our written permission first. We usually give our
permission, but if we refuse we will explain why.
Please remember that you may also need to get planning, listed
building and building regulation permission before you start work.
You will have to pay for the work yourself and it must be done to a
proper standard. We may need to inspect when the job is completed,
so please let us know.
Energy efficiency
The City of London's Department of Community and Children's
Services and the City Surveyor's Energy Management Team have been
jointly responsible for implementing an energy efficiency policy
since 1994. The policy aims to improve the condition of the housing
stock for the benefit of residents and the City of London, as well
as saving residents' money on fuel bills and protecting the
environment.
A range of leaflets is available at all estate offices offering
help and advice on a wide range of energy efficiency matters as
well as on specific initiatives for particular people. If you have
any queries on energy efficiency or need specialist advice on such
matters, please contact the Development Team on 020 7332 3939, who
will be able to advise you or research the query on your
behalf.
The City of London has arranged staff training for an in-house
Domestic Energy Assessor to work at the department. The Assessor
will be able to evaluate how planned works may improve the energy
ratings of the City's housing stock and also provide energy
performance certificates for individual properties (although there
will be a charge made for any such certificates requested and
issued). A database is also maintained which contains basic details
of residencies, which is used to evaluate the SAP (Standard
Assessment Procedure) rating for our stock, as required by the
Government. This is continually updated to reflect improvements
made to properties.
The City is also looking to establish a partnership with a major
energy supplier to take advantage of the Energy Efficiency
Commitment funding that is available. This would enable the City to
receive partial funding when undertaking energy efficiency
improvements to the housing stock, such as cavity wall insulation,
loft insulation and new condensing boilers.
Below is a list of websites providing further information on
energy efficiency as well as practical ideas to help you save
energy and save money which may be useful to residents.
Energy Savings
Trust
An agency set up by the Government in 1992, to deliver energy
efficiency to a range of consumers, including domestic customers.
This gives advice and low cost tips on how to save energy in your
home and reduce fuel bills to make a long term difference to both
yourself and the environment.
The EAGA
Partnership
The company responsible for the management of grants and other
public and private sector schemes that are available to members of
the public, but are targeted at low income households. Their
website has information about grants and schemes that may assist
you, for which you may apply on-line.
The
National Energy Foundation
A charitable organisation which aims to raise public awareness of
energy matters, in particular, the efficient use of energy. The
site gives basic energy advice and also access to a free home
energy check, which will show you practical ways to save
energy.
Decorating
Decorating the inside of the property
In some circumstances we can decorate your home or pay you an
allowance towards the cost. To qualify, you must be over retirement
age or registered disabled and have no younger or
able-bodied person living with you respectively. You can get more
details of this scheme from your Area Housing Manager.
Decorating the outside of the property
We will usually decorate the outside of your home every five to
seven years. We aim to decorate the shared areas inside (such as
corridors and hallways) every ten years.
Decoration allowances
Where we believe there is a need to carry out internal
redecoration works at their new home, at the beginning of their
tenancy we provide all new tenants with a redecoration allowance.
This allowance is determined before moving in and is based on a
standard rate awarded for each room.
We also offer an enhanced redecoration allowance every five
years to any elderly or disabled tenants, who live alone at
their home.
Both schemes are administered by Eileen Cunningham and full
details are available from Area Housing Managers.
Email.