Repairs

Looking after your home is a joint responsibility. We are responsible for most, but not all, repairs within your home. But it’s down to you to take care of your home, report any repairs as soon as possible and repair anything which is your responsibility.

Repairs are carried out by Templer HomeBuild, using specialist contractors where required.

  • Routine ‘by appointment’ repairs will be completed within 30 days. If a repair requires an inspection from a Surveyor, these repairs may take up to 42 days to complete.
  • Emergency repairs will be completed within 24 hours. Please note that you must be available at the property from the moment the emergency repair is logged with us until we have attended and made it safe. See the list of emergency repairs below.

To report a repair, call Teign Housing on 01626 322722, option 2, or report online through your My Teign Account. If you have an emergency repair, this must be reported by telephone and not online. Outside office hours this number will automatically divert to our 24-hour cover service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Emergency repairs usually are defects that put the health and safety or security of the resident or a third party at immediate risk. Emergency repairs may also be carried out if the structure of the building is at risk.

This could include:

  • Total loss of water
  • Burst water main
  • Flooding
  • Severe storm damage
  • Total loss of electricity supply
  • Major fault with the electricity supply
  • Unsafe electrical fittings
  • Breaches of security to outside doors and windows
  • Total loss of gas supply
  • Gas leak
  • Blocked flue
  • Blocked main drains, soil pipe or only toilet
  • No hot water
  • Loss of entire heating provision in cold weather (or 1 October – 31 May) or if you are elderly, disabled or chronically sick, or if you have children under five years old
  • Serious roof leaks and other major structural failures
  • Failure of lift
  • Failure of alarm system
  • Fire damage
  • Offensive or racist graffiti.

You are responsible for some repairs under your Tenancy Agreement. Templer HomeBuild can carry out the work, although there will be a charge, which is payable in advance unless it is completed as an emergency repair due to the health and safety risk or the impact on the security of the home, in which case we will contact you when we have details of the payment due.

They are usually minor repairs or not caused by ‘fair wear and tear’, for example, a lock change when you lose your key, damage to a cupboard door due to misuse or resetting of heating controls or programmers.  

Teign Housing aims to provide residents with a value-for-money repairs and maintenance service, and to support this, we need to ensure that residents are charged for work which they are responsible for, or for works arising from negligent behaviour or deliberate misuse.

If you are unsure if a repair is chargeable or not, contact the Customer First Team on 01626 322722 and they will be able to advise you. You can read our Chargeable Repairs Policy and Procedure on the Policies and Procedures page.

The key things you are responsible for are:

  • Chains and plugs on basins, baths and sinks
  • Chimney sweeping
  • Decoration inside the home
  • Domestic appliances, such as cookers, fridges, washing machines, dishwashers and any leaks relating to these
  • Fences (dependent on Tenancy Agreement), unless the fence forms the boundary to a road, footpath, car park or privately owned property
  • Fixtures and fittings, including toilet seats, cabinets, mirrors, towel rails, toilet roll holders, coat hooks and curtain rails.
  • Floor coverings, including adapting doors to accommodate carpets
  • Garden maintenance, where a household has the sole use of the area, including dustbin and refuse areas
  • Infestations of ants, wasps, bees, cockroaches, mice, rats or fleas – unless the entry point is due to a failing of Teign Housing
  • Internal door locks
  • Lightbulbs / tubes / starters and dimmer switches, including external lights serving just one home, for example security lights. Teign Housing may, at our discretion, assist with some types of bulb replacement (for example, enclosed bathroom light fittings) for older residents or those who have problems with mobility
  • Loss of keys, including any repairs from forced entry if locked out
  • Outbuildings or sheds unless provided by Teign Housing
  • Re-lighting pilot lights, including the resetting of any heating controls or programmers
  • Tap washers, excluding mixer taps with ceramic disc cartridge type heads
  • Telephone points
  • Toilet seats, chains and pulls
  • TV aerials and sockets, unless it is a communal aerial
  • Washing lines, unless they are communal, in which case we will repair and maintain them
  • Waste blockages to sinks, baths and toilets
  • Water damage if caused by the misuse of water.

If you suspect rodent activity, please do contact us. We have a specialist free service, which allows an expert to attend quickly and resolve the issue safely.

We know residents have used poison to address pest issues, but sadly, this means that although the rats die, it can cause a smell and hygiene issue as they decompose under floorboards and can’t be removed without significant work.

So, if you find a rodent in your home, do call us in the first instance on 01626 322722, option 2.

If the pest issue is not in your home but in your garden or street, Teignbridge District Council has a pest control service. Visit their website for more information.

 

If you don’t live in Teignbridge, each local authority area has advice:

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