repairs and major work

This section contains information of interest for leaseholders wanting information about all types of works which can be carried out to a property – general maintenance, major repairs, improvements and alterations.

Homes for Haringey is aiming to bring housing stock in the borough up to a modern standard. Therefore, repairs and improvements to housing are a major part of our service and this section provides information and contacts for these services.

We are responsible for maintaining the outside of your building, the structure and all communal areas.

You are responsible for maintaining the inside of your home. This means redecorating where necessary and carrying out any repairs to fixtures and fittings. You are also responsible for replacing anything such as kitchen units, boilers, bathroom fittings, plumbing and electrical wiring. You are advised to have a gas safety check every year. You are also responsible for cleaning the area outside your front door and if a garden is included with the property, you must keep it in good order and condition.

In this section you will find useful information on works under four headings:

• Reporting a repair
• Day-to-day Repairs
• Major works and improvements
• Alterations

Reporting a repair

You can report a repair online or on the phone. To find out more about reporting a repair or different repair types visit our repairs section.

If you need to report a repair, please call the freephone repair line on 0800 195 3404.

To report an emergency repair outside of working hours please call on 020 8348 3148.

Day to day repairs

We are responsible for day to day repairs which include general repairs and maintenance to the structure, the outside and the communal areas of the building and your estate. Repairs which are classified as day-to-day repairs are those which will result in a cost of no-more than £250 per leaseholder.

Every year we compile a list of the work that we have done to the building and the estate. We calculate your proportion of the total cost and include it in the actual charge which we send to you every September (this is different to the estimated charge for the following year, which we send you every March).

Should you wish, you can ask the Home Ownership team for a list of the day to day repairs that we have charged you for. You do not have to pay for this. For a list of repair jobs for previous years, you will have to pay a fee of £25 for each year.

Major works and improvements

We carry out regular maintenance to all our estates but every building requires major works during its life. There are three different categories of major works. These are shown below.

Exterior decorations

This work often involves joinery repairs, repointing around windows, replacing stone sills and painting outside woodwork, metalwork and so on.

Major repairs

These are large, one-off jobs such as the repairing or replacing of:

• roofs;
• lifts;
• doors;
• controlled entry systems
• windows;
• heating systems
• estate roads and paths
• refuse bin areas
• rainwater gutters and pipes

Improvement work

This is the provision of an amenity and/or structure where nothing similar existed before. Examples of this include the installation of a completely new concierge system or the provision of a children’s play area.

Consultation

Haringey is committed to consulting with residents at all stages of a major works project. The Project Management team and the Home Ownership team carry out consultation in various ways. Consultation will range from meetings on site, to meetings with contractors, to newsletters.

Haringey also has a legal duty to consult leaseholders. The Home Ownership team carries this out. Under section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (amended by the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002) we must consult you whenever we propose to carry out work that will cost you over £250. For further information see the section on Major Works Consultation or you can download a copy of the ‘Consulting Leaseholders and Section 20’ booklet.

Paying for major works

Your lease sets out your responsibility to contribute towards the landlords’ costs of carrying out necessary repairs and also the formula we use to calculate these costs. We will provide you with an estimate in a notice before any work is commenced. The way we work out the estimate in the notice and the bill for the work is the same way as we work out all service charges. You will generally receive your bill six months after the end of the financial year in which the work was carried out. After we prepare the final accounts and pay the contractors, we work out your share of the costs and send you the bill. We acknowledge that paying for major works bills can be a significant financial strain and we offer various payment options to help you to pay.

For further information see our frequently asked questions about major works bills

You can also download a copy of the ‘Bills for Major Works – a guide for leaseholders’ booklet.

Alterations

You are responsible for maintaining and decorating the inside of your home, but not the structure. If you want to do anything which could affect the structure, such as removing any inside walls, or if you want to alter any aspect of the outside of your property, for example putting in double glazing, you must get our written permission.

We advise you not to carry out any work such as double-glazing. This is because under the conditions of your lease, you will still have to make a full contribution to the cost of all the work we do to the block.