Repairs Policy 2026

Purpose

Wealden District Council aims to keep homes safe, well‑maintained and easy for residents to report repairs.

Repair Types

• Responsive repairs (28 days): Non‑urgent issues.
• Emergency repairs (24 hours): Risks to life, health or property.
• Out‑of‑hours service: Available via 01323 443375.
• Cyclical maintenance: Regular checks like gas servicing, electrical testing, fire safety.
• Planned maintenance: Larger replacement programmes (e.g., kitchens, bathrooms).

Council Responsibilities

Maintains:

• Structure (roof, walls, windows, doors).
• Heating, hot water, electrics, plumbing.
• Kitchens/bathrooms (like‑for‑like repairs).
• Smoke/CO alarms.
• Communal areas.

Tenant Responsibilities

Tenants must:

• Keep the home clean and in good condition.
• Report repairs promptly and allow access.
• Replace bulbs, lost keys, and pay for damage they cause.
• Look after their own appliances and insurance.
• Maintain approved alterations.
• Recharges
• Costs may be charged to tenants for:
• Damage or neglect.
• Poor DIY work.
• Clearance/cleaning at the end of tenancy.

Mutual Exchange

• Homes are taken “as seen.”
• Incoming tenants accept non‑standard items left by previous tenants.

Voids

• Empty homes will meet the Council’s Lettable Standard—safe, clean, working services.

How to Report a Repair

Online

Phone: 01323 443375

Email: repairs@wealden.gov.uk

Through Housing Officer or Retirement Living Manager

The Council recognises that the quality of our repairs service has a direct impact on the quality of life of our residents, affecting both health and wellbeing. We want to make sure that the effect is positive and that our repairs services are easy to use and worthy of our resident’s trust.

This Repairs policy sets out what our tenants and leaseholders can expect from our responsive and emergency repairs services. It incorporates the expectations of the Regulator of Social Housing and local government with regards to property repairs and ensures that our homes are well maintained.

The Repairs Service number is 01323 443375 with options to go directly to the Council’s Contractors 24/7 or speak to the Repairs Helpdesk during Council operating hours.

This policy will set out how we will:

• Keep residents at the centre of everything we do, ensuring that they are treated fairly and with empathy and respect by all staff and contractors involved in delivering our repairs services.
• Ensure that tenants can easily and quickly report repairs and maintenance issues.
• Ensure that tenants and leaseholders can easily and quickly report communal repairs.
• Ensure that tenants who come through the mutual exchange process understand their rights, obligations and liabilities.
• Clearly communicate timescales to tenants for the completion of repairs and maintenance to their homes and take appropriate steps to deliver them. Ensure that any changes to these timescales are communicated as soon as feasibly possible.
• Drive forward first-time fixes, to reduce the need for multi-visits to remedy any repairs.
• Ensure that the delivery of our repairs and maintenance to homes and communal areas is informed by the needs of tenants, carried out to a good standard and provides value for money.
• Use data from our property inspections to inform how we deliver our services, and to determine future investment in our homes.

This policy explains how Wealden District Council, through its repairs and maintenance service will keep its properties in good and safe condition, whilst providing value for money.

• This policy is for council tenants and leaseholders.
• This policy covers properties where the freehold and associated communal areas are owned and managed by Wealden District Council.
• All leasehold properties within Wealden District Council owned blocks, where the structure and exterior and any common areas or items are the Council’s responsibility to maintain.

This policy also:

• Sets out the different types of repair, maintenance and improvement works carried out.
• Explains our tenants’ and leaseholders’ responsibilities for repairs and maintenance.

The Policy will be reviewed annually.

There is a dedicated Policy for Damp & Mould which can be found on Wealden District Council’s website or click on the hyperlink.

There is also dedicated Policies, Procedures and Strategies for various tenant focused communication, please check the Wealden District Council website or click on the hyperlink. If you can’t find what you are looking for or require extra help, please reach out to your Housing Officer or the Repairs Helpdesk directly.

This policy aims to:

• Ensure that tenants are treated in a fair and consistent way.
• Ensure that tenants are treated with empathy and respect.
• Focus on working in partnership with tenants ensuring that a safe and healthy environment is provided.
• Ensure the service is easily accessible through a range of different contact points and making reasonable adjustments in line with our corporate Reasonable Adjustments Policy.
• Deliver repairs at times that suit tenants in line with the terms of the repairs contract.
• Undertake effective investigations and implement all reasonable remedial repair solutions and improvements.
• Comply with statutory and regulatory requirements and good practice.

The Council has target times for different types of repairs priorities based on legislative requirements.  Such timescales may vary dependent on the nature of the repair, resident vulnerabilities and health and safety concerns. These will be agreed with the resident according to the nature of the repair at the time of appointing the job.

The Council’s 4 main Contractors are;

• Booker & Best Ltd (building and void works)
• Chris Bartholomew Electrical Contractors Ltd (electric works including electric heating such as air source heat pumps and storage heaters)
• BSW Heating Ltd (domestic gas heating)
• Roselands Heating Ltd (heating in Retirement Living Courts)

All Contractors can be reached directly through the Repairs Helpdesk phoneline 01323 443375 and choosing the relevant option.

If you are in a Retirement Living Court, the Retirement Living Manager will be able to raise repairs on your behalf if needed.

1. Responsive Repair – Day to day repair which is reactive and not planned. Once notified either by the Council or the tenant directly, the contractor will arrange a convenient time within 28 days to investigate and repair.
2. Emergency Repair – The Council and/or their contractor must investigate and make safe emergency hazards within 24hrs. Any follow up works will be undertaken in line with responsive repair timescales.
3. Cyclical Maintenance – These works are undertaken on regular planned cycles for servicing, inspection and testing of equipment, often as required by legislation or regulations.
4. Planned Maintenance – These programmes of works aim to keep our properties in a good standard of repair, by replacing components just before they would otherwise require responsive repairs.
5. Voids – This is reference to empty properties between a change of tenant. The Council’s Lettable Standard will apply to the extent and standard of work within voids.

The Council is responsible for repairing and maintaining (unless as a result of tenant damage or they are tenant responsibility):

• Internal Joinery such as doors, door frames, skirting boards, floors and ceilings.
• Plastering and repair of holes / cracks to walls and ceilings that go above and beyond what is considered a decorative crack.
• Electric, gas and water including wiring, sockets, light fittings, heating ducts gas and water pipes as fitted by the Council.
• Heating and hot water equipment and such as boilers, immersion heaters, radiators, storage heaters and air source heat pumps.
• Ventilation equipment such as extractor fans, PIV units, dri-masters, flat masters and trickle vents
• Bathroom fixtures including sinks, basins, taps, baths, showers and toilets. Fixtures will not be replaced because of their age or for cosmetic reasons. We will try to make sure that any fixture matches with what you already have. However, if we cannot find an exact match, the nearest possible match will be provided. A whole bathroom suite will not be replaced just because a match can’t be found.
• Kitchen fixtures including sinks, taps, worktops, cupboards, handles and drawers. Fixtures will not be replaced because of their age or for cosmetic reasons. We will try to make sure that any fixture matches with what you already have. However, if we cannot find an exact match, the nearest possible match will be provided. Kitchen units will not be replaced just because a match can’t be found.
• Furniture and fittings that we have provided. We will only connect appliances when they have been supplied by us, and have not been gifted to you. We will not replace gifted appliances, furniture or fittings.
• Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms repairs and replacement once informed they are faulty. This also includes environmental sensors if installed at your property.
• Communal areas, including communal doors, entry systems, stairways, hallways, meeting areas, communal rooms, lifts, alarms, lighting, flooring, and decorations internally.

Outside your property:

• Roof and associated equipment such as drains, gutters, external pipes, outside walls, chimneys and chimney stacks, balconies, permanent outhouses, outside doors, windows, communal areas and other shared facilities such as door entry systems, pull cord facility, lifts and washing areas. We do not provide sheds or other outbuildings and do not repair or replace gifted sheds or other outbuildings.
• Pathway and steps which are the main means of getting to your home.
• Walls such as supporting or retaining walls, and boundary walls and railings to the property.
• Fencing which can be close board or chain link in accordance with the Fencing Plan
• Decoration of the outside and any shared parts of the building.
• Shared television aerial that we have provided in blocks of flats or Retirement Living. See our Satellite dish Q&A for more information.

Replacement of Fixtures and Fittings

• Like-for-like replacements:
  We aim to replace items with similar ones wherever possible. If the original item is non-standard or unavailable, we will use the closest match. We will not carry out unnecessary work or full replacements just for appearance.
• Resident choices:
  We will consider resident preferences where possible, unless this affects cost, future repairs, or replacement obligations.
• Resident-installed items:
  If you have added your own fixtures or fittings (e.g., tiling, flooring), the Council is not responsible for repairing or replacing them.

The Council’s Tenancy Agreement sets out the specific repair responsibilities for tenants.

• Keep the inside of the home clean and in good condition.
• Gardens should be maintained and clear of debris.
• Communal areas should be clean and tidy and free from all personal items.
• Internal decoration and maintain decoration.
• Report repairs quickly to prevent on-going damage.
• Pay for repairs if damage is caused by the tenant, a family member, or a visitor. We will charge tenants for these repairs through our recharge process.
• Provide access for statutory gas, electrical and asbestos inspections.
• Provide access so that repairs can be undertaken in accordance with priority timescales.
• Ensure the named adult tenant is at home when our contractor attends. Our contractors will not carry out work where a child under 18 years old is alone at a property. Our Safeguarding procedures will be used if a child is found home alone.
• Treat your home with respect and care, avoiding wilful damage and neglect.
• Replace lost keys and/or gain entry though a locksmith at your own cost if you are accidentally locked out.
• Replace light bulbs.
• If damage to your home has been caused by criminal activity such as broken window or door, please provide a crime reference number. If a crime reference number is not provided, you will be recharged as we will assume that the damage has been caused by yourself, another occupant or visitor.
• Maintain your own TV aerials and/or satellite dish where they are not on a communal TV aerial maintained by the Council
• Install and maintain your own appliances. This includes connection of gas and electric cookers, which must be fitted by an appropriately registered installer. A completion certificate for the work must be forwarded to the Council as soon as reasonably possible.
• Ventilate and heat your home, cleaning off any small amounts of condensation, or mould caused by condensation.
• Maintain humidity levels appropriately.
• Arranging insurance for the contents of your home. Tenants are responsible for any loss or damage to the contents due to theft, flooding, fire, or accidental damage. Resident’s may also be held responsible for damage caused to other properties because of flooding or fire if the cause is found to be arson, wilful damage or neglect, if the tenant does not hold household contents insurance.
• Managing any adaptations or improvements made to their home. Tenants can make changes with our written permission, and they are responsible for maintaining these changes. Upon ending their tenancy, we may request removal of these alterations or improvements at the tenant’s cost.

Please also tell us about: 

• any health needs or vulnerabilities of any member of your household so that we can ensure we and our contractors can provide support if you require this, for works to be carried out.
• any pets that live at the property before a contractor attends to your repair or maintenance work. Permission is required to keep a pet.

Leaseholders are responsible for all maintenance, repairs, and servicing within the property as defined in the lease, excluding communal areas. (For more details and responsibilities, refer to your lease agreements).

Whilst residents are responsible for the repairs outlined in 6 above, in some

cases where residents continue to neglect their responsibilities the Council may

undertake and recharge for works and an administration charge.

Any repairs or maintenance works carried out by residents must be to the

Council’s standard and if not, the Council reserves the right to rectify the works

and recharge residents for the costs incurred.

Once a property becomes void the Voids Team will undertake an inspection to determine whether there are any works required to repair damage caused by that outgoing tenant. If there is, an initial letter will be sent to that tenant to advise that recharges have been found and set out what these are, then once costings have been finalised an itemised invoice will be sent across with photographic evidence of the damage caused. Details on how these recharges can be paid will be included with the invoice.

When mutual exchanging, you are taking the property ‘as seen’. This means being happy with the property layout, condition, fixtures, fittings, etc. If there are non-standard items for example kitchen/bathroom/flooring that were installed by the current tenant, then the new incoming tenant takes that responsibility on. The Council would not repair, maintain or replace these until due for replacement within existing programmes of work, based on the Decent Homes Standard.

If you look at the property and are unsure, please get in touch with the Housing Officer to discuss any issues. This includes making sure the property meets your housing needs, and highlighting any repairs that may be required, before you commit to taking on the tenancy.

When a mutual exchange takes place (where two or more tenants legally exchange their property) the Council will inspect the condition of the property to identify any repairs that may be needed and any damage or alterations that have been made. We will notify both the outgoing and incoming tenant of any repairs that they will be responsible for or that need to be carried out after the move takes place.

We will maintain responsibility for any landlord repair obligations, and will complete any repairs that are our responsibility when they are reported to us, before the exchange takes place, unless the surveyor advises in their report that the repairs can be carried out once the new tenant has moved in.

We will require the outgoing tenant to repair any damage, neglect or alterations that they, their household, or their visitors have made to the property and to complete any repairs that we consider to be their responsibility. These should be completed before the exchange.

We may carry out repairs that are not our responsibility in exceptional circumstances – for example, where there is a health and safety risk – and will recharge the outgoing tenant for all costs of the work carried out. This will be at the Council’s discretion.

Following a mutual exchange, we will continue to meet all of our repair and maintenance obligations for the property in line with this policy, the law and the tenancy agreement. We will conduct gas safety and electrical inspection checks as soon as possible after the mutual exchange takes place and issue the incoming tenant with the associated certificates.

Incoming tenants agree to accept the condition of the property they are exchanging to. They are responsible for carrying out their own inspection of the property prior to the exchange, and for making any agreements or arrangements regarding the condition of the property with the outgoing tenant.

Following the exchange, incoming tenants will assume responsibility for any damage or alterations made to the property by the outgoing tenant and for all repairs that we consider to be the tenant’s responsibility that were not completed by the outgoing tenant. This includes internal decoration or minor repairs needed, cleaning and refuse disposal.

A responsive repair will be completed within 28 working days. On average these repairs are attended to within 10 working days.  The repair will be assessed and prioritised by the Council’s Repairs Helpdesk or directly with the relevant Contractor. Photographs will help diagnose and prioritise repairs quicker.  

REPAIRS APPOINTMENTS

The Contractor will make appointments for all routine repairs. Appointments will generally be made at the first point of contact with the resident and for a time and date that is convenient. We will offer appointments for pre- and post-inspections as required.

Appointments are usually booked in Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm. The contractor will do their best to arrange a convenient appointment time around residents’ commitments.

Residents will be kept informed about progress of their repairs by the Council or the Contractor through various communication methods including telephone, text messaging and email.

If an appointment cannot be kept, residents must inform either the Council or the Contractor at the earliest opportunity. If there is no access and no contact from the resident after the Council has made all reasonable efforts to gain access, (this will normally include 3 attempts to contact and arrange access), the resident will be informed in writing if the repair has been cancelled.

Gas leaks should be reported to the National Gas Emergency Service immediately by calling 0800 111 999

Power cuts should be reported by calling UK Power Networks.  0800 31 63 105

What counts as an emergency?
Hazards that could cause serious harm to life, health, or property and need an immediate response. If the hazard affects someone’s medical needs, health, or safety—or if a vulnerable person lives in the home—a temporary move may be offered. This decision will be made by the tenant and the Council based on the situation.

If you live in a Retirement Living Court:
Tell your Retirement Living Manager straight away or use the pull cord system in your property.

What happens next?
Once the Council is notified, a qualified person will investigate. If an emergency hazard is confirmed, safety work will be carried out to make the property safe. This must be done as soon as possible and within 24 hours of the investigation.

 Response times:

• We aim to attend within 4 hours.
• All emergency repairs will be completed or made safe within 24 hours.
• If the hazard cannot be made safe in that time, we will discuss moving you to temporary accommodation, if required and agree on timescales for the work and you will receive a written summary of the investigation and outcomes within 3 working days.

 An example of emergency hazards are;

• Total loss of water supply (other than by water supplier)
• Total loss of electricity (other than power cut)
• Serious water leak or flood inside a home that you cannot contain
• Blocked toilet (where there is only one toilet in the property)
• Making safe collapsed ceilings and floors
• Blocked flue to an open fire or boiler
• Major health and safety repairs to communal areas

An emergency repairs service is provided Out of Hours, such as before 8:30am and after 5pm Monday to Friday Bank Holidays and over the weekend.

Residents should call the repairs telephone number 01323 443375 and listen to the options for the contractor’s Out of Hours service.

For Residents living within Retirement Living Courts, please also call the repairs number. Please note that there is an out of hours option 5 for heating breakdown within the courts if applicable.

These are works carried out on regular planned cycles for the servicing, inspection and testing of equipment, often as required by statute, regulations or to maintain the general condition of the stock.

The Council carries out cyclical maintenance to ensure that appliances and equipment are maintained to safe operating standards and to comply with legislation and associated guidance.

Examples of cyclical maintenance include:

• Servicing of gas heating systems/installations (to include the statutory requirement for an annual gas safety check).
• Servicing of electrical items/systems such as distribution boards, air source heat pumps, solar panels etc
• Smoke detector testing
• Emergency lighting testing
• Servicing of communal boilers
• Periodic inspection of electrical installations (currently every five years)
• External painting and the decoration of internal communal areas
• Servicing of passenger lifts and stair lifts
• Water hygiene and legionella testing
• Fire safety checks

The Council carries out planned works to improve homes for residents. These works follow a program based on our property database.

Timescales for planned works will be shared with residents. However, the schedule may change due to factors like funding, results from 5-year property surveys, or changes in laws and regulations. We will provide updates as soon as possible.

We will consult with residents before any planned works, explain what will happen, and outline any impact. Consultations may be in writing or through community meetings. A resident liaison officer will be appointed by the contractor as a single point of contact.

Residents may be offered choices for certain design elements, such as kitchen or bathroom replacements.

The Council follows Decent Home Standards which advises that kitchens have a life cycle of 30years and bathrooms have a life cycle of 40years, as well as detailing other components.

Any planned works that will affect leaseholders, the Council will carry out a Section 20 consultation in line with the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and ensure all information is available.

Our lettable standard:
All empty (void) properties will meet a consistent, cost-effective lettable standard. Every home we let will be safe, secure, clean, free from damp and mould, in good condition, and with all services working. Properties will be made ready for the new tenant around within set timescales. See our Lettable Standard for more information.

 Resident responsibilities when leaving their tenancy:

• Remove all personal items, debris, and waste. If not, the full clearance cost may be charged to the tenant.
• Leave the property clean. If not, the full cost of a deep clean may be charged to the tenant.
• Restore any alterations to their original condition unless the Council agreed otherwise. If not, the full cost of restoration may be charged to the tenant.
• Put right any damage they have caused.

If you feel that the Council and/or Contractor has got it wrong and if you are not satisfied with the way a repair or maintenance has been handled, you can make a complaint using our formal complaints procedure.

Once the complaints process is completed, and if the issue has not been resolved, a resident can escalate their complaint to the Housing Ombudsman,.

We will prioritise, measure and report residents’ satisfaction with our repairs service and pursue opportunities to continually improve this based on the feedback from our residents.

Lessons learned from both positive and negative feedback, complaints and Housing Ombudsman cases will be integrated into service improvements and training to help deliver positive resident focused change.

There are several ways to raise a repair.

You can report a repair online.

We encourage all our residents to register on our Tenant Portal online.

You can call the Repairs Helpline 01323 443375 and using the available options, going directly to the relevant Contractor or speaking to the Council’s Repairs Helpdesk.

You can also email repairs@wealden.gov.uk which is monitored during office hours Monday – Friday 8:30am-5pm excluding Bank Holidays.

If you live in a Retirement Living Court, you can also report the repair to your Retirement Living Manager, who can report it on your behalf.

Residents can also reach out to their Housing Officer who can pass their repairs request and details onto the Repairs Team.

For more details on reporting a repair, go to  Reporting a Repair – Wealden District Council