Report a repair: Homeowners
If you are a leaseholder, most repairs to your property will be your responsibility, whilst Places for People are usually responsible for communal or structural repairs. A leaseholder is someone who owns a property on a lease, typically for 99, 125 or 999 years.
This page contains general guidance about responsibilities. Your own individual lease contains information about your liability for repairs.
Quick links:
Report a repair
If a repair is our responsibility we will need your name, address, telephone number and email address. We will advise you as to whether the repair is an emergency or a non-urgent one.
An emergency repair is one that presents a risk or danger to your home or people including:
- Gas leaks
- Burst pipes
- Security issues such a broken entrance door
- Broken locks
- Blocked drains
- Power failures
All emergency repairs are responded to within 24 hours of them being reported.
A non-urgent repair is a minor problem that can be left for a short period of time including:
- Replacement light bulbs
- Problems with a communal TV aerial system
- Door entry system issues
- Damaged fence panels
- Leaking gutters
For non-urgent repairs, we will arrange a time that is suitable for you for us to come and fix it. If it is a repair to communal areas, we will normally not need to bother you.
You can report a repair online or by contacting our Customer Hub on 01772 667002.
You own a house
If you own your property, then Places for People or a Managing Agent will be responsible for any shared parts of your development. This usually means shared or communal pathways, green areas or parking areas. It may also include street lighting and unadopted highways roads that are not looked after by the local authority.
Any repairs that are needed to your home, both inside and outside, including to garden areas and boundary fencing are your responsibility. Please refer to your lease agreement to see what your obligations are. It does not matter whether you own 25% or 100% of the equity in your home, you are solely responsible for looking after the property.
Note: Under the new model 2021-26 shared ownership lease some repairs that are needed to your home, both inside and outside may be our responsibility for the first 10 years from being built. Please refer to your lease to confirm the repairing obligations.
You own an apartment
Every development is different so it is worth checking your lease to see exactly what is expected of you and of Places for People but in general, Places for People is responsible for:
- Roofing
- Outside walls and external decoration
- Sewers and outside drains
- Gutters, rainwater and shared soil pipes
- Pathways, bin stores and drying areas
- Walls and fences on the outside of the building
- Communal stairways and hallways
- Shared fixtures – such as lifts, aerials, fire alarms and door entry systems
- Any other area or equipment that is shared on the development
Anything that is within your home is your responsibility to maintain this will usually include the glazing in your windows. Always check your lease if you are unsure.
Altering your home
If you want to make changes to your home, please check your lease first. You do not need permission to carry out simple changes such as re-decoration but you may need permission to carry out anything more complicated which may alter the structure of your property. Permission for replacing your kitchen and bathroom is included in this.
If you’d like to make an alteration, please write to us with your plans. There will be a consent fee. Please see here for our list of administration fees.”
Section 20 - Major Works
If work that Places for People is responsible for is going to cost more than £250 per leaseholder we have to carry out consultation before this can go ahead, known as Section 20. This is a legal requirement to make sure that the work needs to be done, represents good value for money and that customers have been involved in the decision-making process. It is normally for major works such as a lift replacement, communal decoration or roof works.
During the process:
- We will serve you with a Notice of Intent to carry out the work and outline what is going to happen. You will have 30 days to respond to this comment in writing before we start to get prices for the work.
- We will then serve a Notice of Estimates. You will have 30 days to comment on the prices then we will review before we make a decision.
- All leaseholders will receive a summary of the feedback we received and our responses and details of how the work will be funded.
New developments
Right to repair
If you bought your home between 2021-2026 under the Affordable Homes Programme you could claim up to £500 a year for repairs if you are a shared ownership home owner. Your lease will contain details of an Initial Repair Period, meaning that you may qualify to claim up to £500 a year for certain Qualifying Repairs and Maintenance costs (for up to 10 years).
What repairs would my claim pay for?
Essential repairs or replacements relating to your supply of water, gas and electricity. This includes fixing water setups, including sinks and baths, and gas and electricity setups, pipes, drainage and heating systems.
It does not include fixtures, fittings or appliances like your oven or washing machine.
How much can I claim and for how many years?
Year, Repairs allowance, Allowance claimed for repairs, Roll over to next year
1, £500, £0, £500
2, £1,000 (£500 + £500), £750, £250
3, £750 (£500 + £250), £0, £500
If you sell the home, the repairs allowance will usually transfer to the new owner.
The 10 year Initial Repair period starts from the date the lease is granted. You will qualify to make a claim even if you are not the original leaseholder as long as the property is still within this 10 year limit.
How do I arrange these repairs?
You can arrange the repairs yourself. You must use a Trustmark-approved tradesperson You can find a local tradesperson on the Trustmark website.
How do I make a claim?
To claim your allowance, you’ll need to first report your repair to us using the form below and returning to the Home Ownership Team homeownership@placesforpeople.co.uk if your property is managed by Places for People or customerservice@rmguk.com if your property is managed by RMG Customer Service.
Once we’ve received your details, we’ll check to make sure your repair is covered by the scheme and get back to you within 15 working days.
We cannot process any claims until the repair work is done.
If you have any questions about claiming for repairs, please get in touch with our Home Ownership Team.
New build warranty period
If your property is less than 2 years old, certain repairs may be covered under a 12 or 24 month developer defect period.
Your property will also have a 10 year build warranty taken out by the developer, which will cover the structure of your property. Where applicable, you must claim under the appropriate warranty or guarantee outside of this process.
Please refer to your Homeowner Pack which you will have been issued when you purchase the property.
If you wish to report a defect then please contact us.