Council Housing Repairs Service - Report a Repair

• How do I report a repair?
• How do I know whose responsibility the repair is?
• Repair categories and response times
• What information do I need to provide?
• Appointments
• Will I be charged for the repair?
• Can you use materials supplied by tenants to carry out repairs?
• Leaseholder repairs
• Security

We provide a housing repairs service for Council tenants. We operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to ensure we comply with the government's Right to Repairs legislation.

How do I report a repair?

To report a repair or request a surveyor visit you can use our online form:

Request a repair online

Alternatively, you can contact us on 0800 227676.

How do I know whose responsibility the repair is?

We advise that you look at your Tenants' Repairs Handbook before you order your repair. It will give you detailed information on whose responsibility it is to fix your problem. You may be able to fix the problem yourself. Note down the information you need to give us when reporting your repair.

Visit our Repairs Exemption page to see if you qualify for this scheme.

Repairs Feedback

Council Housing Repairs Feedback Survey

Repair Categories and Response Times

Your repair will fall into one of the following categories:

1. Emergency - we will respond and make the situation safe within 24 hours.
   This is used when there is a real risk of injury or death, major damage to the property, or the property is not secure. Any follow-up work will be completed as soon as possible.
2. Urgent - we will complete the repair within three working days.
   This is used for small repairs that need to be done urgently to overcome major inconvenience, or immediate damage to the property.
3. Routine - we will complete the repair within either 28 working days or it will be put into a programme of work.
   This is used for non-urgent repairs that do not cause immediate inconvenience or danger.

Further details on the Council's repair service are available in the Tenants' Repairs Handbook, your Tenancy Agreement, the Tenants' Handbook or if you are a leaseholder in your lease.

What information do I have to provide when reporting a repair?

When you apply for repairs or cleaning you will need to give as much information as possible on the item to be repaired, location of your property and access arrangements.

Appointments

We will assess how soon we can carry out the repair and offer an appointment. We will place a repair order immediately or arrange for a surveyor to look at what needs to be done. You will receive a written confirmation of your appointment through the post within three days telling you:

• job number of your repair
• details of the work to be done
• the target date by which the repair should be carried out
• any appointment date we have agreed with you.

If it is an emergency, we will let you know how soon the repair worker will come.

We operate a repairs appointment system to make it easier for you to order your repairs and have the work carried out. We have four appointment time slots for you to choose from:

• Morning
• Afternoon
• All day
• Not school runs

Depending on the size of the work required we may only be able to offer you an all day appointment to enable enough time to complete the work.

Will I be charged for the repair?

Visit our Rechargeable Repairs page for full details.

Can you use materials supplied by tenants to carry out repairs?

We buy in our own materials to use for the repairs we carry out in your home, and we do not use or maintain materials supplied by tenants. All our staff carry identification, and we run a large fleet of Council vehicles which carry our logo.

Leaseholder Repairs

Leaseholders can report structural and exterior repairs where the Council are responsible and stated in your lease agreement. Visit our Leaseholder page for more information.

Security

You should ask to see identification before letting anyone into your home. Operational callers from the Council will always carry identification and will not be offended should you ask for it to be produced. 

If you are unsure that a call from Oxford City Council is genuine, you should contact us to check before allowing them access to their property. 

If the caller does not have an appointment, do not let them into the property.

If you strongly believe someone is a rogue trader or bogus caller, please call 999 and alert the police immediately. It may be that the same caller has caused concern elsewhere.

A Better Deal for Tenants: Your Right to Repair

The Right to Repair is a scheme for council tenants. It has been put in place to ensure that certain small urgent repairs which might affect your health, safety or security, are done quickly and easily. Visit the Department for Communities and Local Government website to download the leaflet on your rights as a Council tenant.

Repair services for private residents and businesses

If you are a private resident, business or organisation and would like more information about our commercial repairs services please visit our Oxford Direct Services website.

Page last reviewed 19 April 2012