What Loughborough repairs
We are responsible for repairing and maintaining:
- the structure and outside of the building
- the heating and hot-water system
- sinks, toilets, baths and showers
- gas, water and electricity supplies
- all shared areas
- painting and decorating shared areas and the outside of the building.
You can find out more about these responsibilities in your tenants' handbook.
You can also find more information in your tenancy agreement and by looking at what you are responsible for as a tenant of Loughborough EMB.
Appointments
Under your tenancy agreement, you must allow contractors to enter your home to carry out repairs at reasonable times of the day (between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday) and at other times in an emergency.
Normally, you will get 48 hours’ notice of a contractors visit but sometimes this is not practical. The contractor may call without an appointment while carrying out other jobs locally. Although we would appreciate your co-operation in giving the contractor immediate access, we realise that this may not always be convenient and you can choose whether or not you want to let them in to your home.
Where access is not available, either because you are not in or it is inconvenient, the contractor will leave a card or letter asking you to contact them (usually by phone) to arrange an appointment.
If the contractor receives no response or you don’t keep three appointments, the contractor will report it to us and we may cancel the repair order. We will let you know if this happens. If the work has serious safety implications for other residents or failure to carry out the work will lead to further damage to the property, we may take action to force entry. We may ask you to pay for any extra costs involved in doing this.
Your responsibilities as a TENANT
What you are responsible for:
- Reporting any repairs that we are responsible for.
- Allowing access so our in-house operatives or contractors can inspect and carry out the repairs
- Keeping your home in good condition, including the decoration inside your home.
- Repairing any damage
- You are responsible for any accidental or deliberate damage caused by you, a member of your family or a visitor to your home.
DIY Repairs & Improvements
If you carry out alterations to your home, you are responsible for repairs and maintenance to the alterations unless we have specifically agreed in writing to take over responsibility for future maintenance. You must get written approval from the maintenance section before you carry out any improvements or alterations.
The decoration inside your home
You are responsible for keeping the decoration inside your home in good order (If your decorations are damaged while our contractors carry out repairs we will be responsible for repairing the damage). This does not mean we will redecorate an entire room if only some of the decoration has been damaged.
Other small items you are responsible for:
- blocked sinks, basins, baths and toilet waste pipes
- fuses in a domestic fuse board, resetting trip switches and so on
- providing and replacing light bulbs, fluorescent tubes and starters
- draught-proofing
- toilet seats
- inside door and window handles and locks, catches and lost keys
- built-in wardrobes and cupboards, and their sliding doors, mirrors and so on
- your garden and all shrubs, plants and trees in your garden
- the TV aerial and satellite dish (if you have one), and all associated wiring and connections unless a shared aerial is provided within the service charge
- phone wiring and sockets
For repairs for which you are responsible, you can:
- carry out the repairs yourself
- arrange for the repair to be carried out by someone else
We can occasionally carry out the repair on the understanding that payment is made before the work is carried out.
Aids and Adaptations
What are aids and adaptations?
We want you to be able to enjoy your home. If you or someone you live with is finding it difficult to move about etc, we can help to make things easier. Aids and adaptations can range from things like:
- grab rails
- ramps
- level-access showers
- stair lifts
- lever taps
I think I need my home adapted. What should I do?
First, you need to contact an occupational therapist who will work out what your needs are. The occupational therapists team may work for your council or health authority, depending on where you live. Your local council or your GP will be able to tell you who to speak to but, if you need help, we can put you in touch with the right team.
What happens next?
The occupational therapist tells us what work they think needs to be done to your home. We have a limited budget for adaptations, so if the work is simple and costs under a certain amount (currently £500), we will arrange to do it.
We treat the work like a normal maintenance job. We will let you know that the work has been ordered, and how long it should take. If the work is complicated and we are not sure if we should do it, we will ask for our surveyor to visit your home with the occupational therapist. It is fairly unusual for us to need to do this.
After the visit, we will then decide what will happen next and let you know.
What if the work needed is more expensive?
If the recommended work costs more than £500 we may not be able to pay for the work ourselves. We will write back to the occupational therapist to tell them this and send you a copy of this letter. We may ask you to apply for a grant from Lambeth Council to pay for the work.
The occupational therapist will be able to help you fill in the forms, or you can ask us for help