Chargeable Repairs Policy

Transcription

1 Chargeable Repairs Plicy Dcument cntrl Plicy apprval GDT, February 2016 Replacing/ updating Rechargeable Repairs Plicy 2012 Next review date February 2019 Authr Grup Directr Facilities and Asset Management Respnsible Executive/ Grup Grup Directr Facilities and Asset Management Directr Circulatin Internet and Intranet Current Versin 2 Versin Date Authr(s) Ntes n Revisins 2 Feb 2016 Grup Directr Facilities & Asset Management Review f plicy

2 Intrductin The chargeable repairs plicy sets ut hw First Ark Grup will manage its repairs plicy in relatin t day t day, packaged, cyclical, vid and planned imprvement repairs and services that are required due t fair wear and tear, neglect r deliberate damage. This plicy will set ut hw First Ark and its fficers will deal with tenant requests fr repairs and any ther repairs r wrks required in a KHT hme. This plicy is intended t give guidance t all respnsible fficers f their rle and remit thrughut the prcess. This plicy will als set ut what is defined as a tenant s respnsibility, what is KHT s respnsibility and hw KHT will charge fr these repairs and services. Plicy Objectives KHT is required t prvide a cst effective repairs and maintenance service. This plicy frms part f KHT s apprach t demnstrate value fr mney and prbity in the cmmissining and executin f its repair, maintenance and imprvement wrk. KHT will define which repairs are tenant respnsibility and which are the respnsibility f KHT. KHT will als define which repairs are classed as wear and tear r are due t neglect r deliberate damage by the current, frmer tenant r a third party. Tenant respnsibility repairs are defined in the tenancy agreement. Leasehlders will be respnsible fr paying fr any qualifying rechargeable repairs t cmmunal areas that are attributable t them and they are als bliged t pay service charges in respect f planned wrks under their lease. Where it is clear that there is a chargeable repair r service, KHT will charge the tenant r leasehlder fr the ttal cst f the repair plus VAT. KHT will cntinue t prmte tenant respnsibility and wnership and when practical prvides tenants with the ptin t reslve their wn damage r neglect. KHT will ensure that fairness is at the frefrnt f the Plicy and that the aims and bjectives are fully cmpliant with ur apprach t Equality and Diversity The Mix, ur apprach t vulnerability and ur apprach t tenancy sustainability. KHT will define prcesses fr tenants t either make advance payment fr all chargeable repairs r services. KHT will als define prcesses t recver all utstanding debt related t repairs. KHT will prvide an appeals prcess fr tenants t appeal against any charges applied by KHT and this will be managed by the Asset Management Team. Plicy Detail KHT is cmmitted t ensuring that tenants are encuraged t lk after their hmes in accrdance with their respnsibilities under their Tenancy Agreement. This plicy will assist in this apprach. What is a Chargeable Repair? KHT will require current and frmer tenants t pay fr any remedial wrks when the damage has been caused by: Any repair requested that falls under the tenant respnsibility repair as defined by the tenancy agreement. Page 2 f 6

3 A deliberate act, negligence r misuse caused by the tenant, their family r visitrs. Any reinstatement wrk resulting frm unsatisfactry r un-authrised prperty imprvements, substandard DIY, unauthrised alteratin. An vergrwn r ill maintained garden, including the remval f graffiti r accumulatin f rubbish in a garden r cmmunal area. Any remvals f prperty fllwing the end f a tenancy. Wrks due t neglect r misuse when bringing a prperty up t ur re-let standard. Identifying Chargeable Repairs Chargeable repairs may be identified in a number f ways: Reprting repairs Cntact Centre may identify whilst prcessing a repair thrugh the Lcatr Plus system. The system will autmatically prmpt the user t initiate a series f questins that will help identify if a repair is chargeable. Inspectins Prperty Managers and Neighburhd Husing Advisers (HA) may identify chargeable repairs whilst visiting a prperty t carry ut an inspectin, tenancy check r terminatin request visit. Cmpleting repairs Trade Operatives may identify chargeable repairs whilst visiting a prperty t carry ut repairs. Prperty Managers thrugh Stck Cnditin Surveying may identify chargeable repairs during inspectin. Transfer r Mutual Exchange Visits A Prperty Manager r Neighburhd Husing Adviser may identify chargeable repairs r services are identified during a transfer r mutual exchange inspectin, KHT will suspend the transfer r exchange until the repairs r services have been cmpleted r paid fr in advance by the tenant. A reasnable perid fr cmpletin and re-inspectin will be agreed by KHT in cnsultatin with the tenant. Chargeable Repairs and Tenancy Terminatin Where chargeable repairs r services are identified during a terminatin f a tenancy, the tenant will be advised that they will be charged fr the cst f any remedial wrks. They will be given the pprtunity t either carry ut the repair wrks themselves r advised f the cst fr KHT t carry ut and cmplete befre vacating the prperty. If a tenant disputes the final amunt they will be advised n the Right t Appeal by cntacting the Chargeable Repairs Team. Tenants may at any time discharge their repair, replacement r service respnsibilities by requesting KHT t undertake the wrk at the tenant's expense prvided that the tenant pays fr the cst f such wrks in advance. Discretinary Pwers and Vulnerable Tenants KHT has discretinary pwers t deal with exceptins t this plicy based n individual circumstances. This will include the discretin t waive, defer r arrange alternative payment methds fr vulnerable tenants r what might Page 3 f 6

4 be deemed as ther mitigating circumstances. Exemptins will be the exceptin and determined based n the circumstances and merits f each case. Tenants will be deemed as vulnerable in line with KHT s Vulnerable Custmers Plicy and Prcedures. There may be ccasins when actin may be taken t recver the full r partial cst f a repair after cnsultatin with the supprting agency when there is repeated deliberate damage r negligence by a vulnerable tenant. Being defined as vulnerable des nt, in itself, mean that smene will nt be charged fr a repair. Chargeable csts KHT chargeable csts will be based n the Natinal Husing Federatin Schedule f rates within KHT s repairs system and will be banded int 3 categries. Detailed infrmatin can be fund n KHT s website. Sme specialist wrks may require a cntractr t prvide a separate estimate which will be arranged by the Asset Management Team. KHT in additin will re-cup debt agency recvery csts which are the result f the chargeable repair prcess. Plice Search Warrants Where a Plice Search Warrant is served upn a KHT tenant/ dwelling, the tenant will be respnsible fr the cst f any such repair/s that may arise in executing the Warrant whether r nt a prsecutin is successful r nt. If in the event that the Plice issue a Search Warrant n the incrrect address, it will be the respnsibility f the tenant t pursue any resulting csts r charges directly frm Merseyside Plice. Implementatin KHT's Tenancy Agreement sets ut bth landlrd and tenant respnsibilities and bligatins. At Sign Up f any new tenancy, Lettings Management will ensure that new tenants are infrmed f their respnsibilities in relatin t the Recharge Plicy. KHT will prmte tenant respnsibility thrugh educatin and encurage tenants t understand the financial implicatins f deliberate neglect, misuse r damage and t take mre respnsibility fr their actins. Ntificatin and Prcedure KHT will always advise the tenant that they have the ptin t cmplete the wrks themselves and that a Prperty Manager will check t ensure that the wrks are cmpleted t a reasnable standard. Tenants will be infrmed f the apprximate cst via the Natinal Husing Federatin Schedule f rates cst n the repairs system. Sme specialist wrks may require a cntractr t prvide a separate estimate which will be arranged by the Asset Management Team. The final cst will be determined n cmpletin f the repair plus VAT. If the tenant disputes the amunt they will be able t appeal by writing t the Chargeable Repairs Team. Payment Optins KHT will always endeavur t btain pre-payment, hwever this may be waived if the chargeable repair r service falls within certain categries. These are Emergency Repairs where there may be a security r health and safety risk Page 4 f 6

5 r where a tenant has been assessed as vulnerable in line with KHT s Vulnerable Custmer Plicy. In this case, KHT will cmplete the repair t ensure the integrity f the prperty is maintained and any health and safety issues are addressed and subsequently the custmer may be charged and chased subsequently fr payment. It must be stressed that being defined as vulnerability des nt necessarily mean that a custmer will nt be charged. Recvery KHT will expect that all wrks are paid fr in advance and nly where the wrk is classed as an emergency r the tenant has left the prperty will KHT set up separate rechargeable repairs accunts. The Chargeable RepairsTeam will mnitr and review payments by the custmer and take apprpriate recvery actin where nn-payment ccurs. Where a tenant is fund t have reprted a repair based n infrmatin which is incrrect in rder t receive a repair, the tenant will be required t pay fr the repair befre it is cmpleted. Where the tenant cmpletes the repair themselves, the repair must be cmpleted t the minimum KHT standard. Appeals Prcess All tenants have the right t appeal and they will be advised t write t r telephne the Chargeable Repairs Team. Tenants will have 10 wrking days t appeal fllwing initial ntificatin. The Chargeable Repairs Team will respnd t the appeal within 10 wrking days. The appeal will either be successful, whereby the charge is waived r amended, r unsuccessful whereby the re-charge decisin is upheld. This will be cmmunicated via a written respnse. There will be n further pprtunity t appeal this prcess. If the tenant is unhappy with the decisin they will be able t appeal t the Husing Ombudsman t ensure that KHT has fllwed its plicy and prcedures apprpriately. Cpies f the evidence and the appeal will be placed n the tenancy file. Equality Impact Assessment This plicy has been adpted t deal with all repairs and services n KHT hmes and treats all residents the same with regards t tenant respnsibility repairs and KHT respnsibility repairs. Where there are individual cases cncerning tenants wh are defined as vulnerable there is a prcess in place t adjust the apprach t charging fr repairs based n given reasns. All custmers will have access t this dcument upn request. Respnsibility The Directr f Facilities & Asset Management and the Directr f Custmer Services will be respnsible fr the effective implementatin f this plicy within their teams. Cnsultatin The Custmer Assurance Panel has been cnsulted ver these changes and the implementatin f this plicy. Mnitring and Review Page 5 f 6

6 KHT will mnitr the effectiveness f this Plicy n a mnthly basis by reprting n the fllwing perfrmance indicatrs: Number and average cst f recharges raised % f incme received / recvered cmpared t utstanding debt Number f appeals upheld r verturned via the cmplaints system Cnsultatin with custmers will be undertaken whenever this plicy is reviewed. KHT & Tenant Respnsibilities See Appendix 1 in KHT s Repairs Plicy. The list f wrks and respnsibilities has been agreed in cnsultatin with KHT tenants thrugh the list f Fcus grups as detailed in the Cnsultatin paragraph. This list can be fund n the KHT website and is available in the dcument entitled KHT Lcal Offer. 10. Assciated Dcuments Tenancy Agreement Repairs Plicy Tenant repair respnsibilities within Lcal ffer dcument. Vulnerable Custmers Plicy and Prcedures. Rent Arrears Recvery Plicy. Page 6 f 6