Housing Maintenance

To carry out our responsibilities, we rely on you to report repairs to us as soon as you notice them. Costly repairs can be needed when external repairs are not attended to quickly - often CHISEL is not aware of any problem.

If you need a repair carried out at your property, then please call Barry:
During office hours call 020 8692 9294
Out of office hours call: 020 8338 8433

If you notice leaking guttering and down pipes, or water pouring from an overflow, please let us know even if you are not directly affected. Let us know if repairs are needed to communal areas too, such as loose stair treads, broken handrails or banisters, faulty door locks.

It is a condition of your tenancy that you allow us reasonable access to do necessary repairs or inspect the property. We will try to give at least 24 hours notice, but this is not always possible in an emergency.

The other pages in this section provide further details of our repairs policies and procedures

Your rights to repairs
The Assured Tenants Charter issued by the Housing Corporation sets out certain rights to compensation for tenants whose landlord fails to do emergency or urgent repairs within the agreed time limits.

If a repair is not done within the agreed time limit, the tenant must inform CHISEL of this and the time limit will start again. CHISEL will issue a second instruction to the contractor and send a copy of this to you. If the repair is not done within the time limit for the second time, you are entitled to compensation of £10 plus £2 a day, up to a maximum of £50, for every day the repair remains outstanding.

Please note: This right to compensation will not apply if the repair cannot be done because you fail to provide access to the property (other than in exceptional circumstances).

Rights to compensation
All claims for compensation are considered by our Management Committee, which decides whether compensation is justified and how much should be paid. A claim for compensation must be made in writing and supported by appropriate evidence, other than in exceptional circumstances. We will generally pay compensation by cheque. We will not make payments as rent reductions. A tenant making a claim must continue to pay rent as normal. However, if you have rent arrears, any compensation due will be offset against them unless they are being fully met by Housing Benefit.