Homes in Havering is responsible for repairing and maintaining the structure and outside of Council owned properties. This includes:
- Drains, gutters and outside pipes
- Main roof
- External walls, outside doors, window sills, sash cords, glazing putties and window frames and glass (including necessary painting and decorating)
- Internal walls, floors and ceilings (not including painting and decorating)
- Chimneys and chimney stacks (not including sweeping of chimneys)
- Plasterwork
- Garages and external stores, but not garden sheds
- Common areas such as shared staircases
- Gas, electricity and water services, and sanitation, including wash hand basins, sinks, baths and toilets
- Heating and water heating equipment if they have been installed with our approval, including water heaters, boilers, fireplaces, fitted fires, heaters and radiators
To report property defects or request a repair, residents can:
The costs of any damage caused to the property by the resident or their guests may be passed on to the resident.
Caretakers and concierge staff report any repair requirements as they discover them on the estate. In addition, staff carry out 'estate walkabouts', where they look at the condition of communal grounds and note repairs.
Emergency repairs
Emergency repairs means those repairs that need to be undertaken out of normal working hours, either before 8am and after 5pm on weekdays, and on weekends from Friday 5pm until Monday 8am.
The out of hours telephone number is 01708 756699
Apart from any initial response required for flood, fire or explosion, the out-of-hours service will make safe any fault likely to cause death or injury to occupants or public. This also includes problems that are a serious danger to health or likely to cause extensive damage to property. Examples of this include:
- Collapsing or collapsed floor or ceiling
- Collapsing masonry or brickwork
- Live wiring in an accessible place
- Effluent overflowing internally from a blocked/broken toilet or soil pipe
- Making safe any fault to burst pipes and tanks (not leaking)
- Making property secure after forced entry
- Forced entry because tenant is locked out and young child or disabled relative locked inside (you will be charged for this call out)
- Initial response to storm damage/roof leaks
This is by no means a complete list of possible emergency repairs. The staff answering calls are trained to ask appropriate questions to determine the urgency of reported emergencies.
The Tenants' Repair Handbook provides further information and guidance.
How quickly will we do a repair?
Out of hours emergencies are normally attended to and made safe within two hours (depending on the emergency) and completed within 24 hours.
An additional visit may needed to complete the job, but this will be pre-arranged with the tenant.
