Reporting Faults
A guide to reporting faults in SFA in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
This guide explains how to report faults in SFA maintained by MODern Housing Solutions in England and Wales, or Amec Turner
(Regional Prime Contractor Scotland) in Scotland. For occupants who live in a property provided under SSFA (Substitute
Service Families Accommodation) or PFI (Private Finance Initiative) arrangements, the procedures for reporting
faults are well documented and should be available to you. Should you not have the relevant information, then contact
your local Housing Information Centre who will be able to provide it.
To report faults in England and Wales, contact the MODern Housing Solutions (MHS) helpdesk on 0800 707 6000
To report faults in Scotland, contact Amec Turner (Regional Prime Contractor Scotland) helpdesk on 0800 328 6337
To report faults in Northern Ireland please call 0800 030 4651 during office hours.
Outside of office hours NI residents should contact the local guardroom.
giving:
- Your name, address and daytime telephone number
- Details of the fault
- Access availability
The helpdesk is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. A range of appointments will be offered from a particular day, to a morning or afternoon, for example, to cater for occupants who have to take children to school. The helpdesk will ask if you are available throughout the day so as to give them greatest flexibility to schedule their operatives. Once you report your repair, you will receive a reference number that should always be quoted when speaking to the helpdesk about the same repair. You should also ask for the name of the helpdesk agent for future reference
The Contractor will allocate your repair a priority status that will determine the speed in which it will be carried out. The three categories are:
- Emergency maintenance These are problems that could threaten imminent risk of injury, extensive damage to your home or its environment, or give rise to severe inconvenience or hardship. If the repair is complicated, it will be made safe until permanent repair can be arranged. Emergencies include:
- Total loss of electrical power or light
- Loss of gas supply
- Loss of heating in cold weather (31 Oct to 1 May) with no other heating available, especially where children or elderly people are affected
- Blockage of your only toilet
- Burst pipes or taps that will not turn off
- Severe roof leaks
- Total loss of cooking facilities
The Contractor will arrive on site within 3 hours of being notified where there is an immediate health and safety risk to occupants. In every case they will complete any make-safe process within 24 hours. The subsequent response and rectification, temporary or permanent, will be raised by the operative in accordance with Urgent and Routine maintenance procedures below.
- Urgent maintenance These are repairs that may cause either serious discomfort to you, or may lead to serious damage to your home or fittings. They include:
- Substantial loss of electrical power or light
- Faults to power, lighting or electrical sockets
- Loss or partial loss of central or water heating during winter months (31 Oct to 1 May)
- Toilet blocked or not flushing where you have more than one toilet
- Leaking pipes, tank or cistern (containable leaks)
- Loss of oven functionality
The target is to carry out Urgent repairs within 5 working days.
- Routine maintenance The majority of repairs will fall under this category. They include minor problems, such as:
- Bathroom or toilet fittings
- Doors or windows sticking
- Plaster repairs and brickwork
- One broken cooker ring
- Other non-urgent internal and external repairs
The target is to carry out Routine repairs within 20 working days. |
