1. Policy statement
1.1 The council has a legal duty to keep buildings and homes under its management safe and secure and free from any hazards that may cause harm to tenants, householders, leaseholders or members of the public.
1.2 In order to achieve this, the council operates a repairs service which is accessible 365 days a year and includes a 24 hour emergency repairs service.
1.3 Tenants and leaseholders are responsible for reporting repairs (which the council are responsible for completing) to their homes. The council will action reports of repairs for insecure and dangerous property from third parties including emergency services, other council agencies, support agencies and members of the public where there is a risk of danger to persons or damage to property.
2. Scope of emergency repairs
2.1 Where a report is assessed as an emergency, the council will attend the property and start the repair within 3 hours.
2.2 The scope of the emergency repairs service is to remove any immediate hazards and to make the property secure and watertight. This may be achieved through the completion of temporary repairs.
2.3 Any repairs over and above the initial emergency/temporary repairs will be completed through the day to day repairs service in-line with the published priority timescale for the category of urgency.
3. Insecure windows and doors
3.1 Where emergency repairs to insecure window and external door openings are required, the council will carry out immediate repairs to secure these and ensure they are secure and watertight. These repairs will typically include removing any dangerous debris, temporarily repairing any broken structural parts, boarding over broken glazing and ensuring that windows can be secured in a closed position and doors can be securely locked.
3.2 In circumstances where external doors are damaged to the extent that they cannot be temporarily repaired, a temporary doorset may be installed where practical to do this.
4. Boarding up doors
4.1 Taking into account individual circumstances, the council may fix a security board or sheet across an external door opening meaning that it cannot be used until a permanent repair or replacement is carried out. This measure should be restricted to circumstances where:
- 4.1.1 It is not possible to repair or fit a temporary doorset in a reasonable timeframe
- 4.1.2 The property is abandoned
- 4.1.3 The property is not fit for habitation
- 4.1.4 The tenant/leaseholder has confirmed that they are adequately temporarily housed until permanent repair can be carried out
- 4.1.5 The occupier has been detained in custody or is in hospital for the immediate future
- 4.1.6 A joint agency review determines that securing a property will reduce the risk of property damage
4.2 Where fitting a board or sheet will mean that the only door to the property cannot be used by the occupier’s approval to secure the property must be obtained from a Service Manager within Housing Leeds or a member of the Senior Management team.
4.3 Ahead of approving the sheeting/boarding of a property where the there is no other form of entry and the tenant/leaseholder is not immediately contactable, the council will take all reasonable steps to contact the occupier, their support provider and/or Next of Kin and advise on any required temporary accommodation.
4.4 In all cases where it is not possible to make contact with the tenant or leaseholder before boarding/sheeting a property and all reasonable attempts to do this have been exhausted, a notice will be clearly fixed to the opening setting out a 24/7 contact number and signposting to Leeds Housing Options.
4.5 Where there is a 2nd external door serving the home that can be used, an irreparable door opening may be sheeted / boarded by the repair engineer where a temporary repair cannot be carried, out as long as the lock fitted to the 2nd door is suitable for homes with a single point of entry.
5.0 Changing locks
5.1 Where locks are changed without a tenant/leaseholder present and all reasonable steps have been taken to contact them, a notice will be clearly fixed to the door giving a 24/7 contact number to provide the new keys/arrange access.
6.0 Emergency services own contractor
6.1 Where the Emergency Services are requested to secure a property directly, they are responsible for taking all reasonable steps to establish whether ownership belongs to the council and for contacting the council to secure where council ownership is established.
7.0 Review
7.1 This policy will be reviewed every 2 Years.
