Responsive Repairs & Maintenance Policy
1
Purpose
This policy sets out Oak Housing’s commitment to deliver an efficient, effective and timely responsive repairs and maintenance service that meets the needs of our customers and enables Oak Housing to fulfil its statutory, regulatory and contractual obligations.
Repairs are one of the most important services we provide. We will maintain homes and communal areas for which we are responsible so that customers have homes that are safe, warm, dry, secure and in good repair. We will identify and respond promptly to hazards and place customer safety, vulnerability and individual circumstances at the centre of our decisions.
This policy has been updated to reflect the Regulator of Social Housing’s Safety and Quality Standard and Awaab’s Law, including Phase 2 from 30 November 2026.
2
Scope
This policy covers responsive repairs and maintenance to homes and communal areas for which Oak Housing has a repairing or maintenance responsibility. It applies across Oak’s operating arrangements, while recognising that obligations vary according to tenure, tenancy, licence, lease, management agreement and statute.
Awaab’s Law applies to almost all social housing occupied under a tenancy and let by a registered provider, subject to statutory exceptions. It does not apply to accommodation occupied only under a licence, long leaseholds or low-cost home ownership including shared ownership. Oak will nevertheless manage safety concerns in those homes under its wider legal, contractual and policy obligations.
Where Oak manages PLA, leased or managed accommodation, Oak will establish the respective responsibilities of Oak, the property owner, freeholder, managing agent or other party. Third-party arrangements will not be allowed to prevent Oak meeting a legal obligation owed directly to a customer.
This policy should be read with specialist policies and procedures including Damp, Mould and Condensation, Fire Safety, Gas Safety, Electrical Safety, Decants, Complaints and Empty Homes.
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Principles
- Provide an effective, efficient and timely repairs service and make repairs easy to report.
- Comply with legislative, regulatory, contractual and tenancy obligations.
- Use a risk-based approach distinguishing emergency hazards, significant hazards, urgent repairs and routine repairs.
- Consider household needs and vulnerabilities when triaging and prioritising work.
- Investigate underlying causes and avoid assumptions about customer behaviour or ‘lifestyle’.
- Keep customers informed through clear, timely and accessible communication.
- Seek first-time completion wherever practicable while ensuring temporary measures do not replace permanent resolution.
- Maintain accurate records of reports, awareness dates, inspections, decisions, communications, works and completion.
- Hold contractors and directly employed operatives to the same service and safety standards.
- Use repairs, complaints, stock-condition, damp and mould and disrepair intelligence to identify recurring or systemic issues.
3.1
Regulatory standard
Oak will meet the Safety and Quality Standard by maintaining an accurate and evidenced understanding of the condition of its homes, taking reasonable steps to ensure customer health and safety, setting and communicating repair timescales, keeping customers informed and maintaining communal areas for which it is responsible.
3.2
Awareness of repairs and hazards
A repair or potential hazard may become known to Oak through a customer, representative, employee, contractor, managing agent, local authority, regulator, fire and rescue service, Housing Ombudsman, inspection, complaint, stock condition survey or other reasonable source. Staff and contractors must ensure potential hazards identified during any visit or contact are recorded and escalated promptly.
For Awaab’s Law, the statutory clock may start when Oak becomes aware of a potential hazard. Triage is part of the initial response and must not delay investigation.
4
Reporting a repair
Customers can report repairs through Oak’s published telephone, email, website and out-of-hours arrangements. Oak will provide accessible alternatives where a customer cannot reasonably use a standard reporting route.
All reports will be recorded on Arthur, or any approved successor system, with sufficient information to identify the property, reported issue, date and time of awareness, household circumstances, initial risk assessment, priority, actions and communications.
4.1
Out-of-hours service
Oak will maintain arrangements for emergency reporting outside normal office hours, including weekends and public holidays. Emergency arrangements will be capable of receiving and escalating reports at all times.
4.2
Access
Customers must provide reasonable access for inspections and repairs in accordance with their tenancy, licence or lease. Oak will explain why access is required and make reasonable efforts to agree appointments.
Where access is not obtained and there may be a significant risk, Oak will make repeated and proportionate attempts to secure access, record those attempts and consider escalation, including legal access where necessary. An unsuccessful appointment does not remove the need to manage an identified safety risk.
5
Awaab’s Law and hazard response
Awaab’s Law came into force in the social rented sector on 27 October 2025. Phase 1 covers all emergency hazards and significant damp and mould hazards. From 30 November 2026, Phase 2 extends the significant-hazard requirements to excess cold, excess heat, falls, structural collapse, fire and explosions, electrical hazards and domestic hygiene, including personal hygiene and food safety.
Oak will treat statutory timeframes as maximum periods. Where circumstances or household vulnerability require a faster response, Oak will act sooner.
5.1
5.2
Hazard triage
Oak will triage each potential hazard on its facts and consider the defect, potential harm, household composition and vulnerabilities, previous reports, recurring defects and any material change in circumstances.
Awaab’s Law hazard categories are not identical to HHSRS Category 1 and Category 2. Oak will use Government Awaab’s Law hazards guidance alongside professional judgement and HHSRS principles.
- Damp and mould
- Excess cold
- Excess heat
- Falls on the level, stairs and between levels
- Structural collapse
- Fire and explosions
- Electrical hazards
- Domestic hygiene, including personal hygiene and food safety
5.3
Damp, mould and condensation
Reports of damp, mould and condensation will be managed in accordance with this policy and Oak Housing’s Damp, Mould and Condensation Policy and procedure. The specialist policy sets out the detailed approach to diagnosis, root cause, treatment, monitoring and the damp and mould register.
Oak will not assume that damp, mould or another hazard is caused by a customer’s lifestyle. Everyday activities such as cooking, bathing, washing and drying clothes are normal uses of a home. Oak will investigate the property and relevant household circumstances and address deficiencies for which it is responsible.
5.4
Written summary and communication
Where required by Awaab’s Law, Oak will provide a written summary within 3 working days after the investigation concludes, explaining the investigation, findings, whether a significant or emergency hazard was identified, action taken or planned, relevant timescales and information necessary to remain safe. Oak will keep the customer updated throughout the process.
5.5
Alternative accommodation / decant
Where relevant safety work cannot be completed within the applicable Awaab’s Law timeframe, Oak will secure suitable alternative accommodation for the household at Oak’s expense where the law requires this. Household composition, disability, health, caring responsibilities, location and other relevant needs will be considered.
Customers will not be required to rely on friends or family as a condition of Oak meeting a statutory obligation to secure suitable alternative accommodation. Detailed arrangements are set out in Oak’s Decant Procedure.
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Repair priorities
The following service priorities apply to responsive repairs. Awaab’s Law and other statutory requirements take precedence where they require a faster response.
6.1
Heating, hot water and utilities
Loss of heating, hot water, electricity or water will be triaged according to season, extent of loss, property conditions and household vulnerability. Where excess cold, excess heat, electrical or another Awaab hazard may be present, the statutory hazard response will apply.
Temporary heaters or other interim measures may be provided where appropriate but will not be treated as completion where further work is required to make the home safe or resolve the underlying defect.
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Landlord responsibilities
Subject to the tenancy, lease, licence, management agreement and applicable law, Oak will keep in repair the structure and exterior of homes for which it is responsible and keep in repair and proper working order installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, space heating and water heating.
- Roofs, drains, gutters and external pipes.
- External walls, doors, windows and frames where Oak is responsible.
- Internal walls, floors, ceilings and plasterwork where repair falls to Oak.
- Paths, steps, boundary structures and communal areas where Oak has responsibility.
- Water, gas and electrical installations and fixed heating systems.
- Sanitary fittings and associated pipework. This does not include basic plumbing replacements such as seats, pan brushes or minor repairs which can be undertaken easily by the customer.
- Ventilation systems provided by Oak.
- Fire doors and fire-safety equipment for which Oak is responsible. This does not include the replacement of batteries.
- Lifts, door-entry systems and adaptations installed or maintained by Oak.
7.1
Safety compliance
Oak will maintain arrangements to meet applicable statutory inspection, servicing and remedial requirements for gas, electrical, fire, asbestos, lifts and other building-safety systems. Actions arising from safety assessments will be completed within appropriate legal and risk-based timescales.
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Customer responsibilities
Customers are expected to report repairs and hazards promptly, provide reasonable access, use their home and installed equipment appropriately and carry out minor repairs or maintenance that their tenancy, licence or lease makes their responsibility.
Customer responsibilities do not remove Oak’s duty to investigate and respond to potential hazards where the law requires it. Oak will not delay action on the basis of untested assumptions about fault, lifestyle or responsibility.
- Report leaks, defects, damp, mould, faulty heating, ventilation, electrical issues and other safety concerns promptly.
- Keep appointments or tell Oak promptly if an appointment cannot be kept.
- Avoid deliberately damaging or interfering with safety equipment, ventilation or landlord installations.
- Take reasonable care of the home and any garden or external area for which the tenancy makes the customer responsible.
- Replace consumable items such as ordinary light bulbs and lost keys where this is the customer’s responsibility.
8.1
Rechargeable repairs/strong>
Where damage is demonstrably caused by deliberate action, misuse or a breach of tenancy, Oak may recharge reasonable costs where the tenancy and law permit. Decisions will be evidence-based and proportionate. Recharge considerations will not postpone work necessary to remove an immediate safety risk. A small admin fee may also be applied.
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Vulnerability, equality and reasonable adjustments
Oak recognises that the same defect may create different levels of risk for different households. Triage and repair decisions will consider relevant vulnerabilities, including age, disability, health, pregnancy, mobility, communication needs and other circumstances that may increase the potential impact of a hazard.
Oak will make reasonable adjustments and provide information in accessible formats where required. Where appropriate, Oak may provide additional assistance beyond strict repairing responsibilities to support a vulnerable customer and protect health and safety.
10
Vulnerability, equality and reasonable adjustments
Any contractor, managing agent or other person delivering repairs on Oak’s behalf must comply with this policy, applicable law, Oak’s codes of conduct and relevant service standards. Contractors must promptly escalate potential hazards identified or reported during visits.
Where responsibility sits with a PLA landlord, freeholder, managing agent, warranty provider or other third party, Oak will notify the responsible party, set an appropriate response expectation, monitor completion and escalate where necessary. Where Oak has a statutory obligation, third-party responsibility will not displace that obligation.
11
Empty homes, planned works and recurring repairs
Oak will inspect empty homes against its lettable standard and identify hazards, damp and mould and other defects before letting. Where work is more appropriately delivered through planned investment, any immediate safety or responsive repair need will be addressed while longer-term work is programmed.
Repeated repairs, recurring hazards and patterns of failure will be reviewed to determine whether root-cause investigation, component replacement, stock-condition action or planned investment is required.
12
Quality, completion and post-inspection
Oak will seek first-time completion wherever reasonably practicable. A repair will not be recorded as complete merely because the immediate symptom has been treated where further work is required to make the property safe or resolve the underlying defect.
Post-inspection will be used on a risk-based and sample basis, including complex, repeated, safety-critical or complained-about works and where quality concerns have been identified.
13
Complaints, compensation and disrepair
Customers dissatisfied with the repairs service may use Oak’s Complaints Policy. Making a complaint will not pause or replace repair, hazard or safety action that is required.
Requests for compensation or financial redress will be considered under Oak’s applicable policy or procedure. Disrepair claims and legal correspondence will be managed alongside, not instead of, the operational requirement to inspect and complete necessary works.
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Performance monitoring and assurance
Repairs performance will be monitored through management information and reported through Oak’s governance arrangements. Monitoring will include, as appropriate:
- Emergency, urgent and routine repairs completed within target.
- Awaab’s Law investigations, written summaries and safety works completed within statutory timeframes.
- Open and overdue hazards, including damp and mould cases.
- Repeat repairs and first-time completion.
- Customer satisfaction and complaints relating to repairs.
- Contractor performance and quality assurance.
- Decants or alternative accommodation arising from property hazards.
- Themes from stock condition, compliance, disrepair, complaints and Housing Ombudsman cases.
Material or systemic failures, serious hazards and significant non-compliance will be escalated promptly to the Chief Executive and, where appropriate, the Board and relevant external bodies.
15
Legal and regulatory framework
This policy is informed by relevant legislation, regulation and guidance. The list is not exhaustive and Oak will comply with applicable requirements whether or not expressly listed:
- Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, including section 10A as inserted by the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023.
- Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025, as amended for Phase 2 from 30 November 2026.
- Housing Act 2004 and the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).
- Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018.
- Defective Premises Act 1972.
- Environmental Protection Act 1990.
- Equality Act 2010.
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
- Building Safety Act 2022 and Fire Safety Act 2021 where applicable.
- Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.
- Regulator of Social Housing Safety and Quality Standard and associated Code of Practice.
- Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code and relevant Spotlight / learning reports.
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Related Oak Housing documents
- Damp, Mould and Condensation Policy and Procedure
- Complaints Policy
- Decant Procedure
- Empty Homes / Lettable Standard
- Fire Safety Policy
- Gas Safety / Management Procedures
- Electrical Safety arrangements
- Health and Safety Policy
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy
- Financial Redress / Compensation Procedure
- Customer / Tenant Handbook and published repair responsibilities
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Roles and responsibilities
18
Review
This policy will normally be reviewed at least every three years and sooner where there is a material change in legislation, regulation, statutory guidance, Oak’s operating model or evidence that the policy is not delivering the required outcomes.
Oak will prepare for the further expansion of Awaab’s Law in Phase 3 and update this policy or supporting procedures when the remaining HHSRS hazards, other than overcrowding, are brought within scope.
Appendix 1 – Repair and hazard decision pathway
1. Awareness: Record the date and time Oak first becomes aware of the issue, regardless of reporting route.
2. Triage: Consider the defect, potential harm, household circumstances and vulnerability.
3. Investigate: Emergency: within 24 hours. Potential significant hazard: within 10 working days. Other repairs: inspect where needed within the applicable service priority.
4. Communicate: Keep the customer informed and, where Awaab’s Law applies, issue the written summary within 3 working days after the investigation concludes.
5. Make safe / repair: Complete relevant safety work within the statutory or policy timeframe; secure suitable alternative accommodation where required.
6. Prevent recurrence: Address root cause and begin or take steps to begin supplementary preventative work within the statutory timeframe.
7. Close and assure: Record completion evidence, customer communication, follow-on work and monitoring or post-inspection.