Our repairs service

We are committed to providing our customers with good quality affordable homes that are safe and comfortable to live in.

Our long-term programme of planned works helps to keep customer homes in good condition by carrying out work before repairs are needed, for example, replacing kitchens, bathrooms or boilers.

Customer homes will also need occasional repairs if something breaks down or stops functioning properly. Our repairs team aims to respond to these with high quality repairs.

To make the best use of our resources, we categorise repair requests from emergency through to routine. We have an agreed target maximum response time for each type of repair.

How we prioritise repairs

Every repair is assessed to decide whether it’s an emergency, priority, or routine repair.
Below you can see how we define these repair categories and how long you can expect to wait after you request a repair:

• Emergency – same day
• Priority – before end of next working day
• Routine – within either 30 days or 60 days

If you or a member of your household has a disability or medical need, we will always adjust things appropriately when deciding the repair category.

Emergency repair

This is a defect that puts the health and safety of customers, or security of properties at immediate risk. For example, fire, flooding, total loss of power, gas or water, a serious roof leak or a major structural failure.

Priority repair

This is a defect that would cause harm or further problems if left unattended for longer than a day or two. For example, loss of hot water or lighting, toilet not flushing, a dangerous banister, or a defective lock on an external door.

Routine repair

A non-emergency home repair that is not immediately life-threatening or causing significant harm to the property but still needs attention to ensure your comfort, safety, and quality of life.

We will arrange an appointment at a time that is convenient to you. In the case of straightforward repairs, we aim to complete the work within 30 days. Examples of simple repairs include refixing a door handle, levelling a paving slab, or replacing a tap.

For more complex repairs that require additional time to complete the job, special materials, or involve multiple trades, our target is to have these repairs finished within 60 days.

Who will do my repair?

Our repairs service employs a team of around 35 trade operatives. All our operatives are required to wear an official Selwood Housing ID badge when attending appointments.

We may also use external contractors to help us reduce waiting times for repairs, to provide specialist skills, or during exceptionally busy periods.

Why is my repair appointment delayed?

The repairs team carries out around 650 repairs appointments at customer homes every week. We have a dedicated team of planners who book the repairs and assign them to operatives each day.

Very occasionally, appointments are delayed by things beyond our control. This could include bad weather, traffic delays between appointments, parts not arriving on time, or a peak in emergency appointments.

We know that your time is valuable, so if the appointment needs to be rebooked, we'll let you know as soon as possible.

Is Selwood Housing responsible for my repair – or am I?

You are responsible for carrying out basic repairs as part of the upkeep and maintenance of your home. Check our tips and advice pages to see the types of repairs that are your responsibility. This includes tips on setting boiler hot water and heating controls or re-pressurising a system.

Our repairs service is offered to customers renting existing homes. Please see below information for customers renting newly built homes.

Will I be charged for repairs?

Repairs that aren't due to fair wear and tear, or relate to damage that you, your friends or family have caused accidentally or deliberately are 'rechargeable repairs'. We will repair the damage, but you will be charged for the work.

If you repair the damage yourself, but it's below the standard we require, we may also charge you to put it right.

How are we doing?

The table below shows how well we performed against our response targets for all types of repair jobs in the 12 months from 1 April 2023 to 31 Dec 2023. In the future, we'll be updating this table every quarter.

Below are further details of what each column means:

• Target: the percentage of repairs we aim to complete within the target response time for each category
• Actual: the percentage of repairs we actually completed within that target response time
• Variance: how the completed repairs compare to our target – better or worse than our aim and by what percentage?
• Number of repairs: how many repairs were carried out in each repair category
• All repairs: the number of repairs in each category as a percentage of total repairs across all categories.

Customers renting newly built homes

Our repairs service is only available to customers renting existing homes. If you are renting a newly built home this comes with a one-year defects period which lasts 12 months from when Selwood Housing takes ownership of the home from the developer. During this period the developer takes responsibility for defects. If there are any defects, we will arrange for the developer to fix these within an agreed timescale, depending on the urgency and severity of the problem. We’ll also follow up to make sure the work has been completed to a good standard.

Towards the end of the defects period, we will contact you to arrange a visit to your home to check for any final defects or items to be completed. The developer will then have up to three months to complete any outstanding works. Once the defects period has ended, we take responsibility for repairs required.

Shared ownership customers should refer to their lease agreements for information.