Repairs

As part of our commitment to quality services, we aim to provide a reliable and quick repair service.

Reporting repairs

The best way to report a repair to your home is online through My Housing Account. With My Housing Account, you can book your own appointment slot for your repair.
We encourage customers to report non-emergency repairs online as our online repair reporting service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

My Housing Account - log in or register.

If your repair is an emergency, you should always call us on our 24-hour freephone telephone service on 0800 408 6008.

If you wish to report non-emergency repairs by phone, you can call our team during normal working hours (Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm).

Alternatively, you can report non-emergency repairs by email to repairs@gateshead.gov.uk or by text to 0762 480 4167, starting your message with "REPAIR".

Whenever you report your repair, please give us as much information as you can, so we can diagnose the required work as quickly as possible.

What will happen next?

We will first make sure that it is our responsibility to do the repair. 

If it is, and we have enough information about the repair, we will place an order with a contractor to carry out the work. 

Wherever possible we will place the order immediately.

Repairs appointments

We aim to offer an appointment for all urgent and routine repairs, at a date and time (morning or afternoon) that is convenient to you. 

Planned repairs usually need an inspection before work is done. We will offer you an appointment for the inspection, and at the time of inspection will arrange an appointment to complete the work. 

Work to the outside of your home may not need an appointment.

For emergency repairs you will need to guarantee access to our contractor for the next 24 hours. 

We will not give you an appointment, but we will discuss a time when you will be at home, to make sure we can do the emergency work. 

Missed appointments

If you are not in when the repair team calls, they will leave a card asking you to make a new appointment. 

If you continue to miss appointments for repair work you may be charged. 

If the repair team is unable to keep an appointment, they will contact you to explain the delay and arrange another appointment. 

If we miss an appointment and we didn't contact you, please contact us.

Repair timescales

We have guidelines on how long different repairs should take. This makes sure that everyone is treated fairly. 

The main types of repairs are:

Emergency work - we aim to complete within 24 hours

These are repairs which could cause injuries or further damage if they are not dealt with quickly. These are things like burst pipes, blocked drains, non-secure windows or doors and loss of electricity.

If you call between 3pm and 8am Monday to Friday, or at weekends, we may not be able to complete the repair. The call-out team will make the property safe and arrange to come back the next working day to finish the repair.

If parts are not available or it is not an emergency, we will finish the repair within the relevant category and timescale.

Vulnerable tenants will receive a quicker response to some emergency work.

Routine work - we aim to complete within 20 working days (four weeks)

These are repairs that are not of an emergency nature and usually require no prior inspection. All appointments will be made for the 'next convenient appointment'.

These are repairs such as repairing a dripping tap, repairing a noisy heating system, or fitting a light switch.

A level of priority will be given to some repairs which could affect your health, safety, or security within a certain period. This includes repairs such as repairing minor leaks.

Planned repairs - we aim to complete within 90 working days after the inspection

These are less urgent repairs such as renewing floor tiles or floorboards, or supplying and fitting a new kitchen unit.

Some of these jobs need to be inspected before the contractor can start the work. 

The inspector will call at your property at an agreed time, and they will arrange another appointment to call back and finish the repair.

When an item in your property needs replacing, we will try our best to use materials which are the same as the existing ones.

If this is not possible, we will replace with the items we hold in stock.

For example, if you have a coloured bathroom suite and you need a new bath, we may replace it with a standard white bath which we hold in stock.

We would not replace all items, only the ones that are required.

Planned work

Some work to your home is done as part of a planned maintenance or investment programme. This covers things like outside painting, replacement windows and annual gas servicing.

We will tell you in advance when any work like this will happen. 

If your repair can't wait until the programme we will carry it out within the normal timescales. 

Read more about the Housing Capital Investment Programme

Communal repairs

Repairs to communal areas that affect large numbers of residents - such as stairwells, lighting, doors and windows in communal areas - are given priority.

No ID - no way!

Our employees and contractors carrying out work will show you an identity card. Always ask to see this card before letting anyone into your home. 

If they can't show you a card, or you have any other reason to be suspicious, don't let them in.

Chargeable repairs

We will ask you to pay for any repairs caused by damage or misuse of your home by you, your family or friends. However, the contractor will not ask you for any money when they call.

Your Neighbourhood Housing Team will be able to tell you more about what repairs you may be asked to pay for and how to pay. 

You have the right to appeal if you don't agree with a decision to charge you for repairs.

Compensation for damage

We will pay compensation for damage which is our fault or our contractors' fault. You should report any damage to your local housing office.

We will need to look at what has been damaged so please don't throw anything away. 

As a tenant you are not automatically covered for any of your home contents. 

We strongly advise you to take out your own insurance against loss of, or damage to, your belongings through theft, fire, vandalism or burst pipes. 

While you are free to make your own arrangements, Gateshead Council has negotiated exclusive low-cost cover for tenants. Please ask your Neighbourhood Housing Team for details.

By law, we must fix urgent problems in council-owned homes which could affect the tenant's health, safety or security within a certain period. This is known as the Right to Repair scheme.