Roles and Responsibilities

The Retirement Living & Extra Care Senior Leadership Teams are responsible for the monitoring, oversight, and application of this policy and for ensuring it is developed through engagement with our residents.

In accordance with the Regulator of Social Housing’s Tenant Satisfaction Measures Standard, Housing 21’s leaders are responsible for collecting and providing relevant information to support our residents in scrutinising the performance of our responsive repairs service, including overall satisfaction with the quality and timeliness of repairs undertaken.

The term Scheme Manager is used in this policy to refer to a range of customer-facing housing roles in Housing 21’s operational structure including Housing and Care Managers, Housing Managers, Assistant Housing Managers, Local Housing Managers, and other equivalent roles.

Housing 21 operates a devolved operating model with a locally responsive housing management service at each scheme. The Scheme Manager is responsible for being the first point of contact for residents when a repairs request is made and should take the necessary steps to ensure an effective resolution of the issue in accordance with Housing 21’s procedures for repairs management, which are covered in Housing 21’s Repairs Handbook.

When considering the work required to respond to a repair request, Scheme Managers must consider the personal characteristics and requirements of the resident and consider if any reasonable adjustments to Housing 21’s procedures are required to achieve suitable outcomes for them.

Scheme Managers are responsible for reviewing, varying, and managing costs for repairs in accordance with Housing 21’s Financial Delegated Authority Policy. In certain relevant circumstances, the Scheme Manager should take steps to recover repairs costs via Housing 21’s Building and Contents insurance cover.

The Scheme Manager is responsible for resident satisfaction with the responsive repairs service, which includes suitable communication on what action will be taken, when it will be taken as well as keeping the resident up to date with progress, particularly when access to their home is required.

The Scheme Manager is also responsible for managing arrangements with repairs and maintenance contractors and for ensuring suitable quality and value for money outcomes are achieved for each responsive repair.

As part of regular and ongoing resident engagement activities, the Scheme Manager should actively seek feedback on resident satisfaction with the responsive repairs service and, where relevant, implement opportunities for improvement as a result.

Resident complaints about the responsive repairs services should be responded to in the first instance by the Scheme Manager and in accordance with Housing 21’s Complaints Policy.

Housing 21’s responsive repairs are to be conducted by SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) approved contractors. However, there may be occasions where a different form of accreditation is applied. A current list of the accepted accreditation can be found on the Housing Toolkit and by contacting the Procurement Team.  A current list of approved contractors is held by Housing 21’s Procurement Team.

Repairs and maintenance contractors used by Housing 21 are expected to follow a Code of Conduct which includes health and safety standards and acceptable behaviour. The full code is available from the Scheme Manager.

Residents in Housing 21 properties should fulfil the requirements of their Tenancy/Leasehold Agreement and act in accordance with Housing 21’s Residents’ Handbook.

Residents should keep their home in good decorative order and repair any damage to Housing 21 property caused by them, members of their household, or their visitors. Residents do not have to repair damage caused by fair wear and tear. 

Residents should report to the Scheme Manager as quickly as possible any repairs or faults to their property and may have to pay for any damage or additional works caused because of not reporting any repairs or faults. Additionally, residents may be recharged for repairs such as lock changes in accordance with the Housing 21 recharge procedure.

If an emergency repair is required and the Scheme Manager is not available (out of hours), residents should raise a repairs request by using their emergency call system to contact Appello or call 03333 214067. This information is also available on scheme notice boards and in the local Court Service Agreement.

Residents should allow Housing 21’s authorised contractors or employees into their home to inspect and carry out repairs and improvements and are required to make reasonable efforts to be available for appointments confirmed with contractors.

When a tenancy ends, residents may be liable for reasonable repairs costs, charged by Housing 21, if the property is not returned in a suitable condition after allowing for a fair level of wear and tear.

Once a year, residents are requested to provide feedback on their experience of the responsive repairs service in a survey.