My Repairs

There are some basic repairs for which you are responsible and we expect you to do as part of the maintenance and upkeep of your home. Before reporting your repair take a minute to check whether the repair is your responsibility or ours.

We are responsible for:

• Ensuring your home is secure, structurally sound and weather-tight
• Any communal areas
• Fixtures and fittings we have installed
• Maintaining hot and cold water supply systems
• Maintaining windows and doors, gutters and drains
• All gas pipes, heating systems, electric wiring, power and light fittings
• Any items we originally provided that are not listed as your responsibility

You are responsible for:

• Keeping your home and garden clean and tidy
• Letting us know if you notice a repair is needed for which we are responsible
• Repairing, maintaining and fitting an appliance you have installed
• Allowing us into your home to carry out repairs, safety checks and inspections – this is particularly important when it involves the annual gas, solid fuel and oil servicing and safety checks
• All painting and decorating inside your home
• Preventing pipes from freezing or bursting
• Preventing and controlling condensation
• Draught proofing
• Curtain rails, washing lines and door bells
• Minor adjustments to kitchen units, cupboards and drawers
• Cleaning extractor fans
• Wall and floor tiles
• Fixing toilet seats
• Bleeding radiators
• Replacing glass in windows and doors unless the damage was vandalism reported to the police (always remember to seek a crime number)
• Resetting electrical trip switches
• Replacing plugs and chains on baths, basins and sinks
• Replacing keys or locks
• Replacing light bulbs, plugs and fuses to your appliances
• Dealing with pests (your local authority may be able to help with this)
• Clearing blockages in basins, sinks, baths and toilets

Yes! We have the ability to make morning and afternoon appointments which we will endeavour to make at a time and date that is convenient to you and Karbon.

Making sure you live in a well-maintained home is our priority, and we carry out repairs as quickly as we can.  
 
How long it takes can depend on the type of repair you need and how much demand there is for that type of job at the moment, as your job will need to be allocated to an operative with the right skills. 
 
For emergency repairs, we’ll aim to have someone out to your home within 24 hours. These repairs are when there is an immediate risk to someone’s health and safety or would lead to serious damage to your home or nearby properties. If for some reason it cannot be fixed at this time, we’ll explain why and talk through the options that are available. You can find out more about what we class as an emergency below.
 
We’ll aim to complete routine repairs within 20 working days. These are typically works that are not causing significant discomfort to customers or damaging your home. Examples of routine repairs include adjusting internal doors, replacing taps and minor joinery repairs. 
 
Major repairs often involve work outside your home but can also include internal repairs. These are typically jobs that require multiple visits, a larger number of materials or a specialist sub-contractor. We’ll aim to complete these within 60 working days. Examples of planned repairs include replacement doors, fencing repairs and plastering. 

We’ll ask you to pay for repairs that are not due to fair wear and tear, and usually relate to damage. These are classed as ‘rechargeable repairs’, applicable throughout your occupancy up the point that your tenancy ends. This is usually if you, your friends or family have caused accidental or deliberate damage to your home, or any communal areas arising from neglect of misuse.

We will repair the damage, but seek to recover the cost from you.

Examples of repairs that are rechargeable include, but are not limited to:

• Broken toilet pan, bath or wash hand basin
• Blocked toilet if caused due to negligence
• Blocked drains if caused due to negligence
• Damage to internal fixtures and fittings if due to negligence
• Replacement of fixtures and fittings that you have removed or altered
• Replacement of lost keys to radiator valves, window locks and doors
• Making safe/re-glazing windows that have been broken where no crime number has been provided
• Clearing furniture and general refuse left behind when a property becomes void
• Clearing and reinstating garden area when a property becomes void.

If you fix the damage yourself, but it’s not up to our standard we may also charge you for the costs of us putting it right.

We have own team of multi-skilled trade staff – you’ll often see them out and about in their vans. We rarely employ other companies to do our repair work for us, so you can relax in the knowledge that your repair will be done to a professional standard.

When we do employ another company, it will only happen at times of excessive workload or if we need specialist skills which sit outside of our workforce. All of our sub-contractors are carefully vetted to meet our service standards.

As well as using our website, calling or emailing, you can write to us. Get all the latest contact information here.

As a rule, Karbon will repair the outside of leaseholder properties, while leaseholders are responsible for interior repairs. Visit our leaseholder repairs and maintenance page for more detailed information.

If you lose your key and call us to attend as an emergency repair visit, then you will be required to pay for the cost of gaining access, changing the lock and new keys. This is usually more than £100 – so please be careful with your keys!

We class the following as emergency repairs:

• A total loss of electricity, water or gas
• Your heating breaks down in winter or a member of your household is elderly, disabled, chronically sick or you have young children
• A serious plumbing or gas leak
• An unsafe electrical fitting – water ingress, smell, sign of burning or exposed wiring
• A serious roof leak or major structural failure
• You only have one toilet, and you can’t use it
• A smoke or Carbon Monoxide alarm is sounding within an individual dwelling or communal area
• A front or back door or ground floor window is insecure
• You have a tap that is turned fully on and cannot be turned off
• You are locked out of your home
• External communal doors will not open or close
• You have no power for medical equipment e.g. stairlifts, hoists.
• A communal passenger lift is not working
• You have a loose or detached banister or handrail to staircase

Find out more about reporting your repairs or by logging into your MyKarbon account.

If your home has a serious water leak or a gas leak, evacuate your home straight away.

If you feel like there’s an immediate risk to your own or someone else’s safety, you should also call 999.

If it’s safe to stay in your home, wait until one of our repairs colleagues arrives. They’ll be with you as soon as they can.

Bear in mind, if weather are conditions are poor, it may take them a little longer as their safety is also important.