When requesting a repair please advise us if you or anybody in household is shielding / vulnerable etc. In households where someone is isolating due to having COVID – 19 symptoms or has been advised to shield we will only carry out repairs to remedy a direct risk to the safety of the household. In these cases our operative will wear PPE including face mask and gloves.
We aim to provide a good quality, efficient repairs and maintenance service to all of our customers. If you need a repair to your home, you can report this to us in a number of ways. You can report repairs:
- Online – Click here to log a repair online
- By telephone, calling our Connect team on 0800 234 6826 (including out of hours emergency number)
- In writing
- By e-mail
- Via any member of staff
- Via I Appoint
- You can also report non-urgent repairs to us by contacting us through our Facebook page.
Emergency repairs:
For emergency repairs please call us. If you are calling outside our working hours, please use our main number above.
If you smell gas, please call the National Gas Emergency Service on Freephone 0800 111 999.
Where applicable, a suitable date and time for the appointment will be selected for an internal or external approved contractor to attend and a works order issued. Where an appointment is not available, the contractor will be issued a works order and requested to make contact direct with the tenant to book in for the works to be completed. The same priority system for these repairs will be adhered to as detailed in the Repairs priorities section below.
What to expect when we attend a repair or maintenance appointment
- Upon arrival our operative will display their official identification but a distance of at least 2 metres.
- They will ask you to confirm that everyone in the house is currently feeling well
- Please ensure that you and other members of your household maintain a minimum distance of 2 metres from the operative at all times. If this can’t be achieved the repair may not be able to be completed.
- Please ensure that children and pets are removed from the area of repair.
- Please open doors and windows in the area of repair if possible.
- Please do not offer our operative tea, coffee or other refreshments.
- Please do not hand or pass anything to the operative.
- You may notice that our operative washes their hands more than you might normally expect. Don’t be alarmed, this is in line with current Government guidelines.
- You may notice that our operative washes or wipes down an object or surface before handling, again don’t be alarmed, this is in line with current Government guidelines.
- If our operative needs to discuss aspects of the repair with you they may ask to speak to you outside of the property.
- If your repair requires more than one visit we will send the same operative where this is achievable.
- For most routine tasks (where none of the household has symptoms of COVID – 19 or is shielding) our operatives are not required to wear face masks, again this is in line with current Government workplace guidelines.
Repairs completed in one visit
We will try to ensure that repairs are completed in one visit to the resident’s home, wherever possible. If the repair cannot be completed in one visit we will agree an appointment to return and complete the work at a mutually convenient time.
Keeping tenants’ informed of delays
If a repair requires parts or materials that must be ordered, the repair may not be completed within the published timescale. In this case we will inform the tenant of the likely date for completion of the repair.
If you smell gas, please call the National Gas Emergency Service on Freephone 0800 111 999.
We set time limits for carrying out reported repairs; these are called repair priorities and are set out in the table below:
| Job Priority | Response Time |
| Emergency repair (Priority 0) | Up to 24 hours |
| Urgent repair (Priority 1) | Up to 5 working days |
| Routine repair ( Priority 2) | Up to 15 working days |
| Non-routine (Prority 3) | Up to 30 working days |
Emergency repairs:
Emergency repairs are defined when there is an immediate danger to the health or the risk of safety to a tenant/occupant, or where there is a danger of serious damage to the buildings structure.
Emergency repairs have a target of 24 hours but in the majority of cases we will attend the same day. This emergency service is offered 24 hours a day every day of the year (see separate Out of Hours Procedure).
In some instances only a temporary repair will be carried out to make a situation safe and secure. Once this has been done, arrangements will be made with the tenant to complete the full repair within an appropriate timescale. Usually this is within 10 days.
In rare cases where heating repairs cannot be completed within 24 hours, forms of temporary heating will be supplied by Jigsaw Group.
Examples of Emergency repairs are:
- Complete failure of gas central heating and hot water
- Electrical failure to property (none appliance related)
- Plumbing leaks that cannot be controlled or isolated
- Blocked toilets where sewage is overflowing into the property
- Insecure entrance doors
- Responding to flooded properties
- Responding to property fires
- Suspected gas leaks
- CO alarm activations
- Faulty smoke alarms
- Dangerous electrics as a result of water ingress
- Broken and insecure windows
- Dangerous structures
- Failure of warden call system
- Loss of communal/emergency lighting.
*No heating repairs are classified as an emergency repair during periods of extended low and sub-zero temperatures i.e. commencing late autumn and through the winter when temperatures are consistently less than 5 degrees. During the warmer months of the year, generally commencing early spring through to the autumn, where temperatures tend to range from mild to hot, no heating and hot water repairs are classified as urgent repairs. We treat these with the highest priority and we will offer the first available appointment for attendance.
Urgent repairs:
Urgent repairs are defined when a situation is causing a tenant discomfort, inconvenience and nuisance and it is likely to lead to further deterioration if the problem persists. Urgent repairs will be completed within 3 working days of the repair being ordered.
Examples of Urgent repairs are:
- Blocked drains and toilets (rechargeable to tenant)
- Partial loss of communal lighting
- Roof leaks where water is present
- Partial heating or hot water failure
- Leaking boiler/radiators
- Faulty door locks, handles and closers
- Faulty communal aerial
Routine repairs:
Routine repairs are defined where faults or defects are not causing an immediate discomfort, inconvenience and nuisance to the tenant/occupant and with no risk of long term deterioration of the building
Routine repairs will be completed within 15 working days of the repair being ordered.
Examples of routine repairs are:
- Minor repairs to internal joinery such as kitchen units, window-frames/catches, floorboards, floor tiles, skirting boards, banister rails and extractor fans
- Partially blocked and defective gullies
- Dripping or leaking taps and showers
- Loose wall tiles and plasterwork
- Roof repairs including broken/slipped tiles (not posing a H&S risk), and water staining where no leak is evident
Non-Routine repairs and those classed as ‘Major Remedial works’:
Non-routine repairs are deemed when a repair does not fall within any other above categories and are not subject to one of Jigsaw’s planned improvement programmes. These tend to be large scale repairs or replacements taking in the region of one to two days to complete
Non-routine repairs will be completed within 30 working days of the repair being reported.
Examples of Non-Routine repairs are:
- External repairs to paths, boundary fences and boundary walls
- Clearing gutters and downspouts
- Plasterwork above 5m2
- Repointing of flagging and brickwork
- Repairs to driveways
Major works:
Where repairs are deemed to be more extensive than a non-routine repair then a further category applies which is classed as Major Remedial works.
Examples of ‘Major Works’ are:
- Damp works
- Rebuilding sections of walls
- Full renewal of flat roofs
- Partial renewal of roofs including valleys
- Flagging of large areas over 5m2
Timescale for Major Works
We aim to carry out Major Remedial Works within six months.
Jigsaw will offer fixed date appointments for the following:
- The repair work being carried out
- Pre-work inspections
Jigsaw will always aim to do repairs within published timescales. When tenants report a repair we will aim to advise when the work will be done by and offer an appointment (this depends on how urgent it is) or if it will need to be inspected.
There are four appointment slots available Monday to Friday as follows
- 8.00am – 12.00pm
- 10.00am – 2.00pm
- 12.00pm – 5.00pm
- 8.00am – 5.00pm
Appointment slots are offered for Urgent, Routine and Non-urgent repairs. Emergency repairs are arranged to be undertaken the same day.
Where the association cannot meet the tenants’ preferred appointment within the target timescales, we will offer the choice of a later mutually convenient appointment, or inspection.
Jigsaw’s staff and contractors will attend appointments agreed with the tenant. Where we fail to meet an appointment, the resident will be offered an alternative to suit them. In special circumstances this appointment might be out of office hours.
Where a tenant fails to keep an appointment the repair or inspection request will normally be cancelled.
We are responsible for the main structure of a property and for repairing items that were part of the premises when a tenancy started. These include:
- External walls and foundations
- External doors and windows
- Roofs, gutter and rainwater pipes
- Drainage
- Water services
- Electrical fittings
- Boilers and central heating systems
- Communal areas including grounds maintenance
- Shared gardens, parking areas and rubbish chutes
- External decoration
The responsibility to make sure your home is maintained in a good state of repair lies with both you as a tenant, and us as your landlord. Your main responsibility is to report repairs quickly to avoid further problems arising. However, there are a number of ‘responsive’ repairs which are the tenants responsibility. These are outlined in your tenancy agreement.
In certain situations, it may be necessary for a repair to be pre-inspected in advance to diagnose the full nature of the work required. i.e dampness and structural defects. Tenants will be offered a suitable appointment for a Jigsaw representative to attend. Any repairs resulting from the visit will be raised in accordance with the timescales highlighted above.
Pre-work inspections will be carried out where:
- The tenant is unable to explain the problem in full to the Connect team.
- The repair may be the tenants responsibility
- Surveying measurements, schedules, specifications etc. are required prior to ordering the work
- Investigations to identify the problem are required
- A previously completed repair has not solved the problem
- The tenant has a history of wrongly reporting repairs or abusing the property
- The tenant wishes to consider upgrade or improvement
- Repairs covered by an insurable event.
Internal decoration of homes is a tenant’s responsibility. Occasionally when carrying out some repairs, minor decorating will be required. We will always try and ensure any damage is kept to an absolute minimum.
Where damage to décor has occurred as a result of disrepair then one of the following options may be offered and will be confirmed in writing;
- The association will redecorate and make good the damage to the specified décor to the nearest match as is possible.
- A decoration allowance voucher will be offered in accordance with the guidelines set out in the Redecoration Procedure so that the tenant can rectify the décor themselves.
For example:
- Standard living room or dining room £30
- Bedroom £30
- Bathroom/Kitchen – £15
Where the tenant or a household member is unable to redecorate (for example in supported accommodation), we will ensure any re-decoration returns the tenant’s home where practicable, to the same standard as before the repair was carried out.
Further detail of redecoration can be found in our Redecoration Procedure.
We will maintain any existing adaptations or fixed equipment provided by Jigsaw where still needed, to meet the needs of the household member for whom it was provided.
We will remove on request (for re-use elsewhere), semi portable equipment, such as stair lifts, that are no longer needed due to bereavement or a permanent change in the household makeup.
Where a repair is needed to minor adaptations, such as handrails or semi portable equipment provided for a disabled person and those persons no longer need these items will be removed.
Non-removable adaptations such as structural alterations, concrete ramps etc. will be retained and maintained by Jigsaw. In some cases the structural alteration will be reversed.
Customer satisfaction in relation to repairs is important to Jigsaw Group and will continually be monitored utilising a customer satisfaction automated survey. The responses will be analysed to ensure the highest standards are achieved.
When a repair is completed to an individual dwelling, the tenant will be given the opportunity to provide feedback. They can do this by participating in an automated telephone survey that will happen within 24 hours of a completed repair.
When a response is returned showing any dissatisfaction, Jigsaw will contact the customer within 5 working days and ensure that:
- Dissatisfaction is investigated;
- Cause is remedied, wherever possible;
- Customers are advised of the action taken or to be taken
We will monitor and report on:
- The rate of return of repair satisfaction results and what action is taken
- Analysis of any trends that appear
Complaints and dissatisfaction
Customer dissatisfaction can be expressed through any of the methods which repairs can be reported. All Jigsaw tenants have a right to complain. This is covered by a separate Complaints Procedure.
