How do I report a repair?

There are various methods you can use to report a repair.

Telephone the office – 01208 892000

Email – repairs@crha.org.uk

Our contact form

Through our tenant portal (Registration required)

My CRHA

Call in or write to:

Cornwall Rural Housing Association, 19 Callywith Gate, Launceston Road, BODMIN PL31 2RQ.

CRHA and Tenant responsibilities for repairs are summarised here.

Emergency Repairs

This includes any repair required to avoid a danger to personal safety or serious damage to buildings.

Contact the CRHA office immediately if an emergency repair occurs during normal office hours.

If you have to contact the fire brigade, a gas or electricity supplier, or South West Water, you must inform the Association as soon as possible.

You will have to pay for any work carried out which is not essential.

In the event of a genuine emergency outside normal office hours, at weekends, or during bank holidays, please telephone the Lifeline service operated by Cornwall Council on: 0844 892 0013

Give your name and address and we will do our best to have a tradesman at your home as soon as possible.

Your call to this service may be recorded.

Please note that you will be charged for any call outs which are not an emergency or for any work for which you are responsible.

The out of hours number should only be used to report genuine emergencies outside of normal office hours.

CRHA will seek to recover any costs incurred from anyone who abuses the emergency service.

Emergency Repairs

The following guidelines will be used to determine if something should be treated as an emergency:

Heating

A total failure of the heating system between the months of October and April (inclusive) will be treated as an emergency.

Gas Leaks

Gas leaks should be reported to the National Gas Emergency Service 0800 111 999.

Hot Water

Absence of hot water for a period over 24 hours will be treated as an emergency.

Lack of Power Supply to Socket Outlet

Lack of a power supply to socket outlets will be treated as an emergency if there is a total loss of power throughout the property which is not due to a general power cut.

Total Lack of Water Supply

A total lack of water supply will be treated as an emergency if there is a total loss of water supply to the property which is not caused by general supply problems in the area.

Plumbing Leaks

Plumbing leaks will be treated as an emergency if the leak is causing damage. Please isolate the leak by turning the water off either at the main stopcock or by any isolation valves that may be fitted.

Roof Leaks

Someone will be sent to your property to make safe only if a leak through a roof is causing damage. However, it may not be possible for work to be done in hazardous conditions.

Damage to Roofs

Someone will attend to make safe if the damage is likely to worsen or if it is hazardous.

Downpipes and Gutters

Downpipes and gutters will be repaired as an emergency only if water is entering the building and causing major damage, or if a loose part is dangerous and cannot be made safe by the resident.

Blockages to Showers, Baths or Sinks

Blockages to showers, baths or sinks will generally not be treated as emergencies.

A blockage to a toilet will be treated as an emergency if you only have one toilet in the property.

If your toilet will not flush you will be asked to flush it with a bucket of water.

Blockages to drains will generally only be treated as emergencies where the problem means that the toilet cannot be used.

You will be advised that CRHA will charge you for the cost of dealing with any blockages which are found to be caused by what you have put down the drains.

Please note that clearing blocked waste outlets, traps and pipes to the kitchen sink, bath, wash basins, etc. is your responsibility.

Broken Windows

The emergency service will arrange for someone to attend and board up damaged glass if it is dangerous or if the window is on the ground floor or in any other place likely to make the property vulnerable to criminals.

You will be asked to obtain a crime reference number from the Police.

If you caused the damage yourself then CRHA will ask you to pay for the costs of boarding the property.

Insecure Property

An insecure property will be considered an emergency if a door is damaged after a break-in and will not close, or if a ground floor window is jammed open or if a lock will not operate. You will be asked to supply a crime number before any repairs are carried out following a break-in.

Lock Outs

The emergency service will not attend where you have lost your key or locked it in the property. You should instead contact a local locksmith. Assistance may be available to elderly or infirm residents, but they will be advised that the cost of the work will be recoverable from them.

Defective Manhole Covers

The emergency service will arrange to repair, temporarily cover or protect badly damaged, loose or missing manhole covers if dangerous.

Dangerous Walls & Fences

Emergency repairs will be carried out to walls and fences only when they are in a dangerous condition.

If you cannot get a satisfactory response from the out of hours service you may contact a local tradesman for emergency assistance, but you will have to pay for any work carried out which we consider to be not essential.

Access

When reporting a repair you must tell us when you will be in, or supply a contact telephone number which can be used to make an appointment with you by the contractor.

Always ask to see some proof of identity before letting anyone into your house.

When will the repair be done?

Emergency Repairs: will be responded to within 24 hours of being reported.

Urgent Repairs (where health and safety are not at risk): will be responded to within 5 working days of being reported.

Other repairs: will be responded to within one month of being reported.

We try to deal with all repairs quickly but sometimes we may be busier than usual (for instance after bad weather).

If your repair is not done in a reasonable time you should contact the office. Say when you first reported the repair and to whom.

Doing your own repairs

CRHA tenants may be able to carry out some repairs to their homes themselves and have the cost of materials reimbursed.

Permission in writing MUST be obtained from the Association before any work is done.

The Association will co-operate all it can with those tenants wishing to do some of their own repairs, but permission cannot be given in all cases.

The Right to Repair

Note: The Right to Repair applies only to tenancies commencing before April 2012.

Where the Association has failed in its duty to have a qualifying repair carried out within the specified time, and (after a further request from the tenant) fails to complete the works within the second specified period, the tenant shall be paid compensation by the Association.

For the purposes of this scheme, a qualifying repair is a repair which does not cost more than £200 and which, if not carried out within a specified period, is likely to jeopardise the health, safety or security of the tenant.

For any compensation to be payable under this scheme, the following procedure must be observed:

Emergency or urgent qualifying repair reported to the Association by the tenant.

The Association issues a repair notice describing the repair, naming the contractor who will be doing the work and by when it should be finished.

The tenant must co-operate with the contractor in providing access.

If the Association fails to carry out the repair within the set timescale the tenant should inform the Association that the repair has not been done.

The Association should then, where it is reasonably practical, issue a further repair notice and give a copy to the tenant.

The Right to Repair shall not apply where the tenant has failed to provide access for an inspection or for the qualifying repair to be carried out, although s/he has been given a reasonable opportunity to do so.

Where the Association fails to undertake the repair requested under the procedure, the tenant shall be entitled to compensation of £10, plus £2 per day (up to a maximum of £50) for every day the repair remains outstanding after the end of the second period.

Responsibilities for Repairs

The Association aims to carry out its repairs quickly and efficiently.

Some repairs are the responsibility of the tenant and some are the Association’s.

Tenants must report any repair which is the Association’s responsibility.

What repairs are CRHA’s responsibility?

Repairs to the structure and exterior of the building (for example, the roof, walls and floors)

The upkeep of gutters, pipes and drains.

The repair of baths, toilets, sinks and basins.

Electrical wiring, gas piping, fitted heaters, radiators and water heaters.

A full list of CRHA’s responsibilities is included in the Tenancy Agreement.

Here are some examples for which CRHA is not responsible:

Fixtures and fittings such as curtain rails.

Cookers.

Light bulbs and fuses.

Keeping drain gullies clear of leaves and other debris.

Replacing broken panes of glass.

Tenants will have to pay for repairing anything damaged by them, by members of their household or by visitors to their property.

My CRHA

How Do I Report A Repair?