Look Ahead > For our customers > Tenant handbook > Repairs and maintenance

Repairs and maintenance

Look Ahead has a legal responsibility to ensure that your home is maintained to a decent standard.

This is set out in our Asset Management strategy and we aim to provide you with a safe and comfortable home environment.

However, as a customer of Look Ahead there will be times when you will need to report repairs and maintenance required for your home or, where applicable, replacement items supplied by Look Ahead.

Repairs may relate to general maintenance, white good repairs/replacements, furniture renewals and gas, water or electrical works.

 

Emergency Issues

    • If you smell gas or your CO detector is sounding, please call 999 immediately to report this. Do not use any electrical appliances or use any sockets; Open the windows and leave the property if you are able to safely do so.
    • If you are in immediate danger you should dial 999 immediately.
    • When reporting electrical repairs ensure there is electricity to your home /your electric meter is topped up and check to ensure the appliance is plugged in and switched on.
    • If you have a water leak, have you tried locating your stop cock to turn off the water supply? Can you contain the leak temporarily using buckets and towels? If the leak is severe, please report it as an emergency to our Customer Contact Centre on 0333 010 4600

 

How to report a repair or replacement

There are various ways to do this, you can

 

Customer contact centre

Our customer contact centre operates a 24 hour service for emergency repairs and can be contacted on 0333 010 4600

The service is operated from 9am to 5pm Monday through to Friday and staffed by Look Ahead Customer Contact Centre Officers. After 5pm on weekdays, all day Saturday and Sunday, and during Bank Holidays the service is operated by our out of hours service partner.

 

Managing your repair request

When you ask for a repair, it will be placed in one of three priority categories which will determine the estimated length of time it will take to complete your repair.

 

Emergency

A repair is considered as an emergency when it makes the room or flat unsafe to be in or causes a serious health and safety issue. This can include things like no hot water, no electricity, an uncontainable water leak or a security issue. All emergency repairs must be called through to our 24hr phone line on 0333 010 4600 and will be responded to within 2 – 24 hours. Please note that it is likely that an emergency repair will require a temporary fix to make it safe.  For example, a broken window may be boarded up in the first instance and fully re-glazed at a later date under an urgent or routine repair category.

 

Urgent

A repair is classed as urgent if it causes inconvenience but is not a health and safety risk. This can include things like a slow leak, an isolated minor electrical issue internal door repairs or a cracked window pane. Urgent repairs are aimed to be completed within 5 working days from being reported

 

Routine

A repair is classed as routine if it does not pose any risk and is caused by general wear and tear. This can include things like chipped paint, worn fittings, plasterwork repairs or repairs to kitchen units and other carpentry. Routine repairs are aimed to be completed within 20 working days from being reported.

 

Damp and Condensation

Damp can cause mould on walls and furniture and cause wooden window frames to rot. It’s also unhealthy. Read our guidance on damp, mould and condensation here.

 

Customer satisfaction

There may be instances where the targets above may not be met due to various circumstances. For example, delays in the delivery of ordered materials, or the repair being complex. In cases like these we will let you know if it needs more time, and keep you updated.

 

What happens if I have further issues or am not happy with the quality of my repair?

If your repair is more complex, it may take longer than the expected timeframe to complete. If this is the case, our contractors will make sure the repair is safe and then return to do some follow on work at a later date. Sometimes this can mean that the repair looks unfinished for a few days. If you are unsure if this is the case with your repair, or if your repair has been completed but you are not happy with the quality of the work, please take a picture of the work in question and email it to repairs@lookahead.org.uk  or call the team on 0333 010 4600.

To improve our service and the quality of repairs we ask our customers to complete a short repairs satisfaction survey. They can be found here or you can get a hard copy from your Support Worker or Housing Officer or calling our customer contact centre on 0333 010 4600.