Our Repairs Standard

We want to keep your home and communal areas safe and in good condition. We have a commitment under your tenancy to carry out repairs in a timely and quality-assured way. Some repairs will be your responsibility. Find out your responsibilities in our repairs handbook.

Do not allow anyone into your home who is unexpected and does not have photo ID. Phone 01233 331111 so that we can check if we have sent a contractor. Please note, you may be recharged if you, others in your household, or someone visiting you has caused the need for a repair visit.

How repairs are prioritised

When a problem threatens health and safety, your wellbeing, or the property itself, it will be deemed to be an emergency. You will be given a timeframe for the response when you report an emergency repair. However, we cannot offer a definite time and expect you to be able to allow access whenever the contractor arrives.

Non-emergency repairs are categorised as routine. If the problem is severely inconvenient, it will be prioritised, such as repairs set out by the Right to Repair (see below). Less-urgent repairs will have longer timescales. Appointments are offered for all routine repairs.

Where maintenance can be planned in advance, you will be contacted to make arrangements for works to be carried out.

Emergency Repairs

Emergency repairs are classed as situations which potentially pose an immediate risk to health, safety and security. We will attend within two hours or within 24 hours, depending on the urgency if a repair problem is considered an emergency. Work undertaken for emergency call outs may be limited to making safe, with further works arranged by appointment.

The following are examples of what would be considered as emergency repairs:

• Gas leaks, which should be reported directly to the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. Their full details and advice about what to do if you smell gas are available on the National Grid website. For gas safety advice, visit our living safely in your home page;
• Total loss of electricity, or a dangerous electrical fault;
• Total loss of water supply or a major leak, such as a burst pipe or water tank within the property;
• A toilet which cannot be used at all – if it is your only toilet;
• A blocked drain or serious leak of sewage;
• Heating failure during winter where there is no other form of heating available. This should be reported directly to our contractor on 0800 206 1371;
• An entrance door or window to your home that cannot be secured shut;
• Any other repair that poses a risk to you or the public, or to the building structure.

This is not an exhaustive list and each situation will be discussed with you to understand the full circumstances. We may ask you to take some action yourself to reduce the immediate risks.

Routine Repairs

Priority

Routine repairs that are prioritised are classed as issues that cause serious inconvenience to you. We aim to complete these within seven days, or as per the Right to Repair standard timeframes, if applicable.

The following are examples of what would be considered urgent repairs:

• Partial loss of electrical power or light;
• Broken or damaged power socket, switch, or light fitting;
• Partial loss of water or gas supply;
• Loss, or partial loss, of space or water heating;
• Blocked or leaking drains or soil stack;
• A blocking toilet or broken flush;
• A blocked sink, bath or basin;
• A tap which cannot be turned;
• A leak from water or heating pipe, tank or cistern;
• A leaking roof;
• An insecure external window, door or lock;
• Loose or detached stair hand rails;
• Rotten timber floors or stair treads;
• A broken door entry phone;
• A broken extractor fan in a kitchen or bathroom with no other venting.

This is not an exhaustive list and each situation will be discussed with you to understand the full circumstances. We may ask you to take some action yourself to reduce the inconvenience until a contractor can attend.

General

The following are examples of what would be considered more general routine repairs which we aim to attend to within 28 working days:

• Minor problems with toilets, baths or sinks;
• Doors or windows sticking;
• Plaster repairs;
• Brickwork and other non-urgent internal and external repairs.

Planned

The following are examples of what would be considered planned routine repairs which we aim to attend to within 90 days:

• Clearing gutters
• Window/door seal replacement.

Inspections or Surveys

We may not be able to decide what repairs are needed from our initial conversation with you. You may need to send us photographs, or arrange for an inspection visit before agreed works can be arranged.

We also carry out some inspections after work has been completed. This is to ensure the correct work has been done to an acceptable standard.

Visit our report a repair page for more information.

Right to Repair

We have a legal obligation to complete some types of repair works within a certain timescale. These works are called ‘qualifying repairs’. 

When you report a qualifying repair, we will tell you who will do the repair and when it should be completed by.

Legal proceedings

Please be advised, Ashford Borough Council does not accept service by electronic means of any legal proceedings. Should you seek to pursue a claim/commence legal proceedings/serve legal documents including Pre-action Protocol letters on Ashford Borough Council, please address your documents to ‘Mr T Mortimer, the Solicitor to the Council & Monitoring Officer’ and either by post or by hand, deliver to the council’s offices set out below:

Ashford Borough Council, Civic Centre, Tannery Lane, Ashford, Kent TN23 1PL.