Repairs services continue despite new national lockdown
As the Government have announced a fresh month-long lockdown to help slow the spread of Covid-19 our teams are working hard to continue to deliver Habinteg services across the country.
Our HabFix pilot programme will end as planned on Friday 6 November and we’ll be reverting to our usual repairs service from that date. Fortunately the Government rules for the new lockdown allow repairs services to continue as long as contractors follow Covid safe work practices. All scheduled safety checks must also continue as normal and you will need to allow contractors into your property to carry these out when they are due.
How should I report my repairs?
Please report any non-emergency repairs via our online repairs form or if you’re not able to use the form you can call Habinteg Direct on 0300 365 3100.
As the Habinteg Direct team are now working from home once more and call volumes have begun to increase you may find it takes a little longer than usual to get through by phone. We want to give you a prompt and efficient service so we recommend that the quickest and easiest way to report a routine repair is via our repairs form if you’re able.
What if it’s an emergency?
If you need an emergency repair please do report it by phone on 0300 365 3100 so that we can respond as promptly as possible. If you’re not sure if your repair is classed as an emergency or not you can check our repairs guide for clarification.
What should I expect when a contractor visits my home?
As your health and safety is of the utmost importance to us, our contractors are expected to follow all the Government guidance on Covid safety. This includes wearing a mask if they need to enter your home and maintaining social distance from you while they’re working.
We keep in close contact with our contractors and we know that some of them have been short staffed at times during the pandemic. If you have a repair appointment that is delayed due to staff shortages or any other reason we’ll get in touch with you to let you know what to expect.
Don’t forget, if you’re at all concerned about a contractor visiting your home, please contact Habinteg Direct, by emailing direct@habinteg.org.uk or calling 0300 365 3100. We can help resolve your concerns and if you’re calling about a non-essential repair we may be able to offer a different appointment.
What support is available during this lockdown?
Although shielding advice hasn’t been brought back in full, some tenants may wish to limit their time out and about to help minimise the chances of infection. And as testing becomes even more common some tenants may need to isolate for a period due to advice from track, trace and isolate services.
If you find yourself in this position and you need support with any basics like shopping or collecting medicines we may be able to put you in touch with local agencies that can help. Please email us on Direct@habinteg.org.uk in the first instance.
We’ve also put together some useful sources you can turn to if you feel you are struggling with your mental health or need financial support.
Will HabFix happen again in future?
We introduced the HabFix pilot programme in response to the spring Coronavirus lockdown in order to get through the backlog of non-emergency repairs. Many of you have told us that you liked the HabFix approach so we’re now starting to evaluate the pilot, working with tenants, staff and contractors, to see if there are elements we might want to keep.
We’ll keep you up to date with the evaluation through this bulletin and via the quarterly Update newsletter.
