Repairs and Maintenance
Bernicia is committed to providing a high quality repairs and maintenance service. Tenants have told us that this is the most important service we provide. We will make every effort to ensure it is customer focused, responsive, reliable and efficient. We continually monitor the quality of repairs and assess tenants satisfaction with the work carried out.
Report a Repair
Phone our repairs freephone 0800 0279 766. This line is open 24 hours and can be used to report repairs outside of normal working hours. However after 5pm and at weekends we will only send out repair workers for emergency situations.
Email - Info@bernicia.com
By visiting a local area housing office at:
Ashington, 3 & 4 Dawson House, Poplar Street, Ashington, NE63 0BY
Bedlington, Front Street West, Bedlington, NE22 5TU
Newbiggin, The Bungalow, Woodhorn Road, Newbiggin by the sea, NE64 6HG
Kingston Park - Beaminster Way East, Kingston Park, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE3 2ER
When you report a repair, we will:
Record details of repairs accurately and confirm details by letter (except for emergencies)
Issue you with a job reference number at the time of the report
Make a convenient appointment with you to complete the repair.
Appointments
For most repairs except emergencies we will offer you an appointment or identify a date when the work will be done. Our appointment times are:
Early mornings 8am to 10 am
Late mornings 10 am to 12 midday
Early afternoons 12 midday to 2pm
Late afternoons 2pm to 4pm.
Saturday mornings 8am - 12 midday
In addition to these we offer early evening appointments Monday to Wednesday up to 6pm (7pm on Thursday). Please note that work which can be carried out during these appointments is limited to smaller jobs such as replacing locks, electrical sockets, damaged tiles or repairing minor plumbing leaks.
We will book appointments around you, and ask you to please let us know if you cannot be at home for any appointment made.
On the day of your appointment we will:
Ring ahead to let you know we are on our way
Leave a calling card if no one is at home with contact details so that you can rearrange or re-report your repair
Let you know if we have carried out work to the exterior of your home when you were not in
Notify you if an appointment cannot be kept
Carry out repairs efficiently and to a high standard
If we need to leave during the course of the job, we will tell you why and for how long
Where the job requires work by other trades or contractors, we will arrange for this to be done to ensure the job is fully completed
On completion of the repair, ensure that your home is left in a safe, clean and tidy condition. We will tell you what has been done and any arrangements for follow up work if required, before leaving your home.
In addition we may contact you by telephone to find out what you thought about the service you received.
Timescales - Examples
1 calendar day (24 hours)
Total loss of electric power
Total loss of water supply
Total or partial loss of space or water heating (1 Nov to 30 Apr)
Blocked flue to fire or boiler
3 calendar days Partial loss of electric power
Partial loss of water supply
Total or part loss of space or water heating (1 May to 31 Oct)
Blocked sink, bath or basin
Tap that cannot be turned
7 calendar days
Leaking roof
Door entry phone not working
Minor electrical work
Minor water leaks
Faulty stopcock or valve
28 calendar days
Floorboards
General tap repairs, e.g. tap washers
Cracked tiles or slates
Internal plastering, window catches and stays
31 calendar days
Outhouse repairs
Repairs to paths (no danger from tripping)
Refix rainwater pipes
Bath re-enamelling
UPVC window installations (subject to supply)
Working in your Home
Our repair workers must:
Carry an identity card, show it to you and ask your permission to enter your home
Take reasonable care to protect your belongings from damage, dust and paint
Be polite and treat you and your home with respect
Make sure materials and tools do not cause danger and remove them from your home when they are not being used
Tidy up inside your home at the end of each working day and arrange for rubbish to be cleared away from your home and garden as soon as possible after the work is finished
Repair any damage caused by their work in your home
Make sure gas, water and electricity are connected at the end of each day and when the repair is completed
Warn you about any likely noise or disturbance they will make, and keep it as low as possible
Keep you informed about how they are getting on with the repair
Make sure their power tools are fully charged at the beginning of each working day
Take account of any special circumstances you let us know about
Tenant Responsibilities
Some repairs requested by tenants are not our responsibility and details of these are given in full in our Repairs Handbook. If tenants have installed or changed fittings or agreed to take responsibility for items at the beginning of their tenancy we will not be responsible for repairing these. Similarly we are not responsible for fences between neighbouring homes.
Rechargeable Repairs
If we are requested to carry out a repair resulting from deliberate damage, negligence or carelessness tenants may be asked to pay for the repair before we start the work.
Servicing
Once a year we service all gas and solid fuel we have provided in your home. Also we must by law carry out a safety check on all gas appliances and pipework in your home.
We carry out these checks to protect the health and safety of you, your family and your neighbours.
Tenants are notified at least 6 days in advance of an appointment for gas servicing and if the appointment is unsuitable we ask that you contact as soon as possible to make alternative arrangements.
Improving and Modernising your Home
We have a 5 year improvements programme that will see a number of of homes modernised to a standard and specification agreed with tenants through consultation based on what is important to them in terms of both choice and quality.
Tenant Liaison
Helping you make the right choices about your home improvements and looking after you while the work is underway is of great importance to us.
We have our own Tenant Liaison Officers who are there to answer any concerns or questions, provide support and seek your views on how satisfied you were with the work, both during and after.
Our Contractor Partners provide a full resident liaison service and their officers will visit you before any work starts, help you prepare for the work and visit you during the work to make sure things are running smoothly.