Our Repairs Service - Stoke-on-Trent Housing Society

How long will I have to wait for a repair to be completed?

EMERGENCY REPAIR – a repair is an emergency if it needs to be completed to avoid danger to your health and safety. We’ll ask you some questions about the repair and if we think it’s an emergency then we’ll send one of our contractors out to you within 4 to 24 hours.

URGENT REPAIR– these are repairs that may cause you some discomfort and or damage to your home if not carried out urgently. Examples of urgent repairs would include repairing a leaking pipe in the property or renewing a light fitting. Urgent repairs will be completed within 5 working days

ROUTINE REPAIRS – these are repairs that aren’t urgent, although they may cause some inconvenience to you. Examples of routine repairs would include easing an internal door or clearing an overflowing gutter. Routine repairs will be completed within 20 working days

What happens if I’m not in when you come to carry out a repair?

Our contractor will leave a card. You’ll need to telephone the number on this card to rearrange your repair. You may be charged if you have requested an emergency repair or if you had a pre-arranged appointment and you don’t provide access.

I’ve lost my keys or need another set, what do I do?

If you lose your keys and don’t have a spare anywhere we’ll change the locks on your property if you need us to, however, you will be charged for this. If you require additional keys then you must arrange this and pay to have them cut.

Can I have extra fobs or keys for the door entry system to my apartment scheme ?

Yes, there will be a charge for additional fobs or keys and you’ll need to collect them from our office in Ridgway Road, Hanley.

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Rechargeable Repairs

We’ll charge you for any repair work that we carry out to your home that’s been caused by damage that’s not due to fair wear and tear.

This means that any repairs that we find are a result of deliberate damage, neglect or botched DIY, by you, your household or your visitors, then we will carry out the repair and recharge you for the cost of the works. We’ll also charge for missed appointments.

Also, if you end your tenancy and leave your home or garden in a state of disrepair or leave behind any rubbish or belongings, we will charge you for it.

Any DIY/Improvements that we haven’t authorised will be rechargeable to you if we have to carry out repairs to put them back to an acceptable standard.

And remember – if we do have to recharge you and you don’t pay us then we’ll take legal action that could affect your credit rating, any of your loan applications and your ability to exchange or transfer to another Society property.

For more information or advice on recharges contact us on Tel 01782 986566.

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DISREPAIR CLAIM ADVICE

Beware of illegal door knockers – contact us first!

Several of our customers are receiving home visits or calls from Disrepair Claim Companies who will often say that they are from ‘the housing’ or even in some instances ‘Stoke on Trent Housing Society’ or “the council”. They might say that they are there to complete a survey on the property.

These people represent claim handlers or solicitors, and their aim is to make money from you, usually up to £500 per referral (whether the claim is real or not). They will tell you that your home needs repair and will encourage you to put in a claim against us.

Many of the companies cold calling in our area are operating illegally so we want you to be aware of them, let you know what happens if you claim, and how that claim impacts us and our tenants.

Claims can take up to two years to resolve and this is very likely to cause further inconvenience to you, as the solicitor ‘acting’ on your behalf will advise you not to allow us to carry out any repairs while the claim is on-going. Any improvements scheduled for your property, such as new front doors, kitchens, bathrooms, will also be put on hold until the claim is resolved.

Once you have initiated a claim and signed the solicitor’s documentation, very rarely will the solicitor allow you to change your mind and stop the claim. They will advise you that, if you want to stop the claim, you will be liable for:

Charges for the survey they have arranged, often up to £1000
Credit agreement charges of over £500 for “no win, no fee” to cover legal cost insurance

Please be careful before you commit to any agreements with these companies, as they could put you at serious financial risk.

What happens if you claim for disrepair?

The Society will defend ALL cases made against us and we have a strong track record of winning cases, often resulting in our tenants being liable for money (sometimes thousands of pounds) to cover the costs of the case.

One of our surveyors will visit your home to do a survey. This survey will check for disrepair and point out anything that needs to be done. Courts view our surveyors as expert witnesses; this means that they also have a duty to the court. Our surveyor will also check if we need to charge you for any property damage during your tenancy.

How disrepair affects the Society and its tenants

It is extremely costly for us to go to court and defend cases. We don’t have insurance against these claims, therefore the more that we spend to defend cases, the less we have for repairs, improvements, and funding for other services for our tenants.

If you have received a call or a visit from a Disrepair Claim Company and aren’t sure what to do, call us first before you sign anything.