New Charter Homes/Aksa Homes Repairs & Maintenance Policy Author Steve Norris Version No 2 NCHGH-RMP-2-15

Transcription

1 New Charter Homes/Aksa Homes Repairs & Maintenance Policy Author Steve Norris Version No 2 NCHGH-RMP

2 1 Introduction 1.1 This document sets out in detail New Charter Homes & Aksa Homes policy for the Responsive Repairs & Maintenance Service. It covers all areas of company policy with regards to the maintenance and upkeep of our homes, including gas servicing. 1.2 It also clarifies respective Landlords and Tenant obligations under the Tenancy Agreement and the service standards customers, both tenants & leaseholders, can expect from New Charter Homes & Aksa Homes. 1.3 Our intention is to deliver our service effectively and efficiently and within our operational financial resources. Failure to do so can lead to the provision of an ineffective repairs and maintenance service which ultimately could result in financial, reputational and regulatory risk on New Charter & Aksa Homes. 2 Aims and Objectives of Policy 2.1 The aims and objectives of the Repairs Policy are as follows: To ensure both New Charter Homes & Aksa Homes and the tenants meet all their statutory & contractual obligations. To provide a prompt, efficient and economical 24 hour, 365 day per year responsive repairs service. To aim to complete repairs right first time, where applicable. To achieve high standards of customer care and consistently high levels of customer satisfaction. To ensure vulnerable customers receive a service which is appropriately tailored to their needs. To ensure that all our properties are maintained to a high standard (minimum Decent Homes) and that customer's live in safety, comfort and warmth. To help maximise the life of all our properties. To provide transparency in the repairs procedure and provide a link between New Charter/Aksa Homes and its customers, through customer feedback and involvement. To meet our own commitments to our customers as detailed within the Tenancy Agreement. To provide Value for Money in the repairs service. To service all relevant appliances and fittings in line with our legal responsibilities. 3 Responsive Repairs 3.1 In order to keep the housing stock maintained in good condition, customers will be encouraged to report repairs and these repairs will be carried out promptly and effectively. 3.2 To ensure that this is achieved the service will include: 2

3 Facilities for reporting repairs by a variety of methods convenient to tenants including; Telephone Connect Centre , website or /info@aksahomes.co.uk, personal call at one of our Home & Community Hubs/Aksa Offices or social media such as Facebook/twitter. When a repair is reported every effort will be made to identify accurately the nature of the repair and to arrange a convenient appointment. The urgency of the repair will be prioritised & the customer advised An appointment will be made and adhered to by the tenant and the relevant contractor. 3.3 A handbook will be made available to tenants advising them how and when to report a repair, how to deal with emergencies and other supplementary advice. It will also confirm the duty on tenants to keep appointments made for repairs to be carried out in order to avoid abortive and multiple visits by staff. 3.4 Responsive or Day to Day repairs are split into three categories. This is to ensure that our service is quick and efficient through optimum use of resources, whilst enabling us to prioritise effectively and provide high levels of customer service. It also enables us to monitor our performance for each category (see section 4) Emergency: Any defect that puts the health and safety or security of the tenant, or a third party, at immediate risk; or that affects the structure adversely. We will respond to these within 4 hours, examples are listed in the table on the following page. In some instances we may only be able to carry out a temporary repair to make the situation safe and secure. Once this has been done, arrangements will be made to complete the repair within the relevant timescales, as detailed below. We provide an emergency out of hours repairs service which will operate solely for emergency repairs that occur outside office hours. This service will usually involve making the situation safe and secure. The full repair may be completed during normal working hours within relevant timescales, as detailed below. In circumstances where a customer has been found to have falsely reported an out of hours emergency repair or failed to keep the appointment, they may be recharged for the call out Urgent: Problems that don t pose a health hazard but cause a major inconvenience, discomfort or nuisance to the occupants or third parties and are likely to led to further deterioration of the building if the problem persists. These will have an appointment made and be completed within 7 calendar days. Examples are detailed in the table below. 3

4 3.4.3 Routine: Defects that can be deferred without serious discomfort, inconvenience or nuisance to the tenant or a third party or long term deterioration of the building. These are completed within 28 calendar days unless we inform the customer within this period that the repair is major or planned works and would be more economical to be repaired at a later date as part of a programmed repairs approach. Examples of the categories for repairs are detailed in the table below; Emergency Within 4 hours Urgent Within 7 calendar days Routine Within 28 calendar days Total loss of water. Total loss of electricity Major fault with electric supply Unsafe electrical fittings Main sewer drain is blocked Blocked toilet facilities Breaches of security to doors and windows to the dwelling Total loss of gas supply Gas leak Heating/hot water loss for elderly or vulnerable tenants or during the period 31 st October 1 st May. Out of service lifts Failure of warden alarm or call system Partial loss of electrical power Partial loss of water supply Heating/hot water faults or breakdowns Blocked sink, bath or basin that a customer has been unable to unblock themselves Defective cisterns or overflows Damage to stair treads or handrails or banisters Roof leaks Failure of door entry system Breaches of security to doors and windows in communal areas General joinery General plastering Minor plumbing repairs e.g. dripping taps Repairs to kitchen fittings Repair of clearing of gutters and downspouts Easing of doors and windows Other minor day to day repairs or replacements 4

5 3.4.4 Aksa Handy-person service Aksa Homes want to ensure that a local, responsive and visible service is provided to tenants. The Handy-person service has been developed to undertake first line maintenance for Aksa tenants, and to ensure that the general appearance of the neighbourhoods is in line with our standards. The handyperson is to provide a quick response for service for basic maintenance requests from our customers which provides value for money. The service is also able to carry out regular weekly visits to areas outside Oldham, and also ensure that the obligations of Aksa Homes in respect of the Social Lettings and Managing Agents contracts are carried out. Aksa Homes has now launched a fix it service which is carried out by the handyperson at the rate of per hour and this service is available to all Aksa homes and Homes for All tenants. Aksa Only. Areas of work for the handyperson within 28 days Inspections to individual tenant s homes Minor repairs to Individual tenants homes Inspections to communal areas Minor repairs to communal areas Minor environmental repairs: (removal of low level graffiti removing rubbish/litter picking) Meeting new tenants on day of moving in instructions on how to use facilities Attending tenant meetings and giving general minor repair advice as and when required Offering one to one advice/training to tenants with high volume of repairs and/or where advice requested. Input/assist with tenant consultation Minor adaptations Minor security improvements re vulnerable tenants 3.5 Appointments. Where we require access to a customer s home we will offer a 2 hour appointment slot and our target is to keep all appointments. If a customer is unable to provide access at the time of a given appointment, the job will be cancelled until further instruction from the customer. 3.6 Pre Inspections will be undertaken where the repair request is unclear or needs further specification.where possible these will be by appointment. 5

6 3.7 Post Inspections will be undertaken aimed at providing quality assurance and ensure value for money checks. The system of post inspection will have flexibility to enable inspections to be randomly selected or specifically targeted and will include all comments/complaints received from post work satisfaction questionnaires. 3.8 Planned and Improvement Works and other non- urgent repairs: To ensure that we are providing repairs in the most cost efficient and effective way, non-urgent repairs such as fencing, guttering, footpaths and painting may be deferred and grouped together into a planned maintenance programme. The same applies for any major structural works such as roofing or building works. This will be reviewed on a quarterly basis. 3.9 Cyclical Works; These include service contracts important to health, wellbeing of tenants and the safety of the property. These are undertaken on a programmed basis depending on the lifecycle and legal requirements of the particular item. These are normally annual visits to inspect such items as; Communal Heating Systems Lift maintenance Communal Water Tanks & Legionella testing Water pumps Gas servicing (see below) Programmed Electrical Test 3.10 Annual Gas Safety Checks: In accordance with the Gas Safety (Installation and use) Regulations 1998, New Charter Homes & Aksa Homes will service and undertake a gas safety check of all gas appliances within our properties which will be carried out on an annual basis to meet the Company s legal obligations. All reasonable steps will be made to ensure access is gained and tenants will receive 3 weeks advance notice in order to give tenants the opportunity to make a suitable appointment. Where a tenant consistently refuses access for this essential safety maintenance, they will be in breach of their Tenancy Agreement and the Company will take legal proceedings against the tenant to ensure access is gained including using Power of Entry Adaptations; we will co-operate with relevant organisations to provide an adaptations service that meets tenants needs, this will include working with the appropriate local authority. 6

7 4 Monitoring and Delivery 4.1 Our target is to complete repairs a within the timescales set out in this policy or any subsequent stretching targets that may be set by the Boards or Group Executive Management Team. The success of the policy will be visible through the impact it has on company performance, specifically the performance of the Responsive Repairs service. The effects of the policy will be monitored via the performance system and reporting mechanisms, including monthly reports to the Group Management Team & regular reports to Boards. Within our performance monitoring framework we also measure the following: 4.2 Appointments: Where we need to pre inspect repairs we will do so by appointment and aim to do so within 5 working days. 4.3 Customer Satisfaction: We monitor levels of customer s satisfaction with the repairs service. This is monitored via the complaints/compliments procedure, customer review groups & customer satisfaction surveys with 10% of tenants who have had a repair completed receiving a satisfaction questionnaire. This feedback is used to further improve service levels. 4.4 Planned, Cyclical and Improvement Works and other non-urgent repairs: To ensure that we are providing repairs in the most cost efficient and effective way, non-urgent repairs such as fencing, guttering, footpaths and painting may be deferred and grouped together into a planned maintenance programme. The same applies for any major structural works such as roofing or building works. This will be reviewed on a quarterly basis. 4.5 Annual Gas Safety Checks: Numbers of completions and properties with out of date gas service certificates are monitored on a weekly basis. 4.6 Financial Indicators: Our performance against forecasted annual budgets will be measured on a weekly basis. We must ensure that we are repairing our properties to a high standard, whilst working within our budgetary constraints. 5 Customer Responsibilities 5.1 Whilst we have responsibility for the majority of repairs we do in our homes, our customers also have responsibility for the maintenance and upkeep of our properties. 7

8 Our Tenancy Agreements and Tenants Handbook explain as follows: 5.2 Tenants must report any faults or damage to the property immediately to us. If any damage is caused to the property by a third party then the tenant must also report this damage to the Police 5.3 Rechargeable Repairs. Tenants may be required to pay for repair or replacement if damage is caused to the property and the fixtures or fittings deliberately or by their own neglect or the actions or neglect of people who live with or visit (including children). Tenants may also be recharged for The costs of any electrical or other faults or fires caused by them. The costs of any damage caused to the property as a result of the lawful execution of a warrant by the Police or other authorised body. The costs of any unnecessary call out made by them to our emergency repairs service inc where there is no access to an emergency repair. Cost resulting in gaining access to the property on the tenant s behalf as a result of lost or forgotten keys. 5.4 Tenants are responsible for carrying out certain small repairs as we will specify, such as: replacing plugs and chains to baths, sinks and wash basins plastering minor cracks in internal walls and ceilings refitting doors after laying carpets releasing windows stuck after internal painting replacing electrical plug tops and fuses. ensuring gulley grids are clear Gate catches Blocked sinks (where applicable) 5.5 If tenants fail to do these repairs, we may give notice to carry out the repair in a reasonable time. If the tenant does not do so we may do the work and recharge the costs. 5.6 Tenants are responsible for decorating inside the property and keeping it in good decorative order. 5.7 Tenants are responsible for repairing, maintaining and replacing any equipment they have installed or any other addition, alteration or improvement, they have made, and any non-standard equipment that was fitted by a former tenant and left in the property at their request. This includes any form of burglar, smoke or carbon monoxide alarm. Tenants must make sure that the equipment purchased and installed complies with any legal requirements. 8

9 5.8 Tenants have the right to make additions, alterations or improvements to the property but must obtain our written permission to do so. (see Consents Procedure). We will only refuse permission to make these additions, alterations, or improvements if we have good reason to do so. If we refuse permission we will write to advise why. If we grant permission, we may ask that the work is undertaken in a certain way or to a specified standard, or impose other reasonable conditions. All works must be carried out to our satisfaction. 5.9 Insurance; As landlord we will ensure that it has sufficient Property and Public Liability Insurance. In the event of an insured peril e.g. fire or flood the policy will cover damage to the structure of the building and associated repairs. However, where there is damage to contents within the property the insurance cover is the responsibility of the tenant. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that tenants take out suitable cover to protect their personal belongings. As part of New Charter Trust Group a Home Contents Insurance Scheme is available through a reputable insurance company, which provides cover at competitive rates for tenants who wish to access this facility. 6 Responsibility for this Policy 6.1 The responsibility for delivering this policy lies with the Director of Property Services & Director of Aksa Homes. The delivery of the repairs service will mainly be undertaken by our in-house Building Company. However, we will use external contractors when there are specialist repairs required that fall outside of the skills of the teams within the Building Company e.g. damp proof works, major structural defects. 6.2 We will compile, maintain, and keep under constant review, an Approved List of contractors and consultants eligible to carry out work for the Company. Work carried out by contractors and consultants will be subject to the Company s procurement procedures, financial regulations and standing orders. Contractors will be required to operate to the Company s Code of Conduct, which will be inserted in all contract documentation. Contractors will also be required to undertake to comply with the Company s policy on Equality & Diversity. 9

10 7 Service Standards 7.1 Customer Care When carrying out a repair job, the New Charter repairs team will: Aim to ensure repairs are completed within the relevant and appropriate timescales. Always keep to the appointment time, otherwise, contact Connect to rearrange a suitable alternative time with the customer. The Repairs Team will give as much notice as possible should they need to cancel an appointment. Always wear their name badge/id card. Be smart, clean and presentable, with the correct uniform Always let the customer know who they are there, introduce themselves and explain the reason for their visit Carry out the work to a high standard, respecting the customer s property and contents at all times Arrange another appointment, if they are unable to complete the work, and clearly and simply explain to the customer what will happen next Leave the work area clean and tidy These standards are measured via the repairs customer satisfaction surveys and performance measures. 7.2 Quality of Repairs Through this policy we aim to ensure that repairs are not only completed within timescales in the most efficient and cost effective way, but are completed to a high standard and to the satisfaction of the customer We aim to ensure that all repairs and work completed in our homes are of an excellent quality and have mechanisms in place to support this. These include pre and post inspections of repairs completed by the Building Company and those of our external contractors. Our operatives will be appropriately skilled and trained to deliver work of an excellent quality Customers have the opportunity to feed back to us the quality of repairs completed through the satisfaction surveys, or through our Customer Insight Team. 8 Consultation arrangements 8.1 Customers have been consulted on the contents of this policy. Customer feedback about the content of the policy and how it should be effectively communicated was obtained via the Policies & Procedures Group 8.2 The policy will be reviewed & updated periodically and customer feedback including the involvement of customer review groups will be used to inform any revisions. 10

11 9 HCA- Regulatory Framework for Social Housing in England April As a registered provider New Charter Homes & Aksa Homes are required to comply with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) s regulatory framework. 9.2 Standards which impact on this policy Homes Standard - Repairs and maintenance Registered providers shall: provide a cost-effective repairs and maintenance service to homes and communal areas that responds to the needs of, and offers choices to tenants, and has the objective of completing repairs and improvements right first time, and meet all applicable statutory requirements that provide for the health and safety of the occupants in their homes. Registered providers shall ensure a prudent, planned approach to repairs and maintenance of homes and communal areas. This should demonstrate an appropriate balance of planned and responsive repairs, and value for money. The approach should include: responsive and cyclical repairs, planned and capital work, work on empty properties, and adaptations. Tenant Involvement & Empowerment Standard Registered providers shall; provide tenants with accessible, relevant and timely information about the progress of repair work. Registered providers shall; ensure that tenants are given a wide range of opportunities to influence and be involved in -the management of repair and maintenance, such as commissioning and undertaking a range of repair tasks, as agreed with landlords, and the sharing in savings made 10 Summary 10.1 This document sets out in detail New Charter Homes & Aksa Homes policy for the Responsive Repairs & Maintenance Service. It covers all areas of company policy with regards to the maintenance and upkeep of our properties, including gas servicing It also clarifies respective Landlords and Tenant obligations under the Tenancy Agreement and the service standards customers, both tenants & leaseholders, can expect from New Charter Homes & Aksa Homes. 11 Related Policies, Procedures & Plans Asset Management Strategy Gas Safety Procedure Procurement Strategy Fire Safety Strategy Asbestos Policy and Management Plan Investment Programme Procedure Rechargeable Repairs Policy 11

12 Consents for alterations policy Resident Involvement Strategy Equality & Diversity Policy Financial/Contract Standing Orders Compensation Policy Complaints Policy Customer insight strategy 12 Data Responsible Officer/s Date to GMT/ relevant committee/ individual subsidiary board (if applicable) John Ardern- Director of Property Services 4 th November 2014 Date to Board (if applicable) 11 th February 2015 Date of Equality Impact Assessment 6th August 2014 Date of Next Review November