Housing repairs and maintenance

You can:

• telephone our repairs line on 01563 555555
• report a repair online

Report a housing repair

We will ask:

• your name and address
• what needs fixed
• when we can access your home

In most cases we’ll give you a repair appointment right away. If we need to carry out a repair inspection first, we’ll arrange a time that's suitable.

Emergency out of hours

If you need to report a repair outwith our office hours please contact our emergency helpline on 0345 724 0000.

Timescales depend on the type of repair. To help us deal with the most urgent repairs first we have timescales that cover all types of repairs.

Emergency - within two hours

Emergency repairs are classed as 'turn up and make safe' where we will remove the cause of the emergency immediately.

Urgent (priority)

Urgent priority repairs are where the welfare of the resident or the fabric of the property could be compromised if left unattended.

Loss or partial loss of heating or hot water, where no alternative is available, is a qualifying repair under the right to repair legislation.

We are required to respond to the repair by the end of the next working day following the date that the repair was reported.

Urgent (non-priority)

Urgent repairs with lower priority where immediate fixes are not applicable, but when failure to attend could result in a fairly rapid deterioration of the fabric of the building, or where the convenience of the tenant is significantly compromised.

Routine - within agreed timescale

Routine repair and maintenance work and is appointed to be carried out within one of two timescales:

• 25 working days
• 50 working days

Any other tasks, for example, those with weather dependency or requiring to be grouped to form a programme of work, are likely to be treated over longer periods and normally within 50 working days.

Tenants will be notified when the repair has been programmed and a date when the work will be carried out.

The responsibility for repairs to Council houses is shared between the Council and the tenant.

We are responsible for maintaining the fabric and permanent fittings of the building, while the tenant is responsible for internal decoration and removable fittings.

If you are not sure please ask your housing officer or contact us.

Rechargeable repairs

If damage is caused by the tenant, we will usually do the repair but you might be asked to pay for the work.

For example:

• replacing locks, keys and door frames due to force of entry or loss of keys
• defrosting pipes due to fault of the tenant
• damage from vandalism within the household
• unauthorised installations which need to be fixed
• not fixing repairs found during your final inspection before moving out

Under the Right to Repair Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, you have the right to small urgent repairs being carried out by us within set timescales.

This is called the Right to Repair scheme and applies to all Scottish secure tenants and short Scottish secure tenants.

Each year, we plan work to improve our homes. This includes things like replacing windows and upgrading central heating.

If your home is part of the programme, we’ll let you know. You can also check if your home is included by visiting Housing Improvement Programme.