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Report maintenance Reporting maintenance issues
We will deal with maintenance issues on a priority basis; anything affecting your health and safety, such as a major water leak, or electrical fault will be high priority. Anything affecting your material comfort such as loss of hot water, heating or an appliance failure will be medium priority and any non-urgent repairs i.e. minor plumbing issues, will be treated as low priority.
Should you fail to report maintenance issues to us online which subsequently cause further damage to the property, you may be held liable for the repairs.
Out of hours emergencies
If you have an emergency maintenance issue out of hours, and the property does not have a homecare policy, you will need to report it online as you would normally. The issue will be escalated to Propcall and if they are satisfied that it is an emergency, they will instruct a contractor to attend the property.
Should you give false or misleading information to one of Propcall’s emergency response team, you will be liable for any associated call out costs.
Please note, if you do not hear from Propcall, it is likely that the issue is not an emergency, and we will be in touch as soon as the office re-opens.
Important Information
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Fire detection:
The Letting Game will test the carbon monoxide and smoke alarms in the property on the first day of your tenancy. During your tenancy, it is your responsibility to ensure the alarms remain in working order. We have listed some of our recommendations for maintaining the alarms below:
- Once a week – the alarm should be checked by pressing the test button
- Once a year – the casing of the smoke alarm should be vacuumed and wiped to ensure dust isn’t blocking the sensor chamber
If the smoke alarm is making an intermittent bleeping/chirping noise, we recommend that you follow these steps:
- Check that the smoke alarm is definitely the source of the bleeping/chirping
- Clean the alarm as per the instructions above
- Test the alarm by pressing the test button
- Change the battery (unless it is mains powered)
- Check that there is always clear access to escape routes
If the problem persists or if you have any queries about the fire detection in the property, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Gas issues:
If there is no gas to the property, please contact your gas supplier in the first instance. If you can smell gas and you think there might be a gas leak, you will need to call the National Gas Emergencies number 0800 111 999 immediately. Do not switch any light switches or light any naked flames.
Power:If you experience a power cut, we firstly advise that you check online to see if there is an issue in your local area. You can do this using the following website www.westernpower.co.uk
Alternatively, if the electricity cut out when you turned on a switch or appliance, please check your fuse board to ensure that all the switches are facing upwards. You will need to unplug and stop using any appliance causing the fuse to trip and inform The Letting Game of the issue (unless it is your own appliance causing the electrics to trip).
What to do if your boiler breaks down:
If your boiler is not working, please report the issue via our website straight away however there are some basic
troubleshooting things which we expect you to try.- If you are on a pre-pay meter, check that there is enough credit on the meter.
- Test any other gas appliances to see if they are working (i.e. a gas hob) and check the fuse board to make sure a switch has not tripped.
- Check the settings on the boiler and timer. If you have had a power cut recently, it may have reset itself. You can access a manual for most boilers online, so please refer to the manual before reporting the issue.
- Check the boiler pressure – this should be between 1-2 bars. If it is less than 1, it needs to be topped up. This is usually very straightforward – follow the steps in your boiler manual/watch videos online of how to do this.
- Turn the room thermostat to 21 degrees or higher, this may re-boot your heating.
- Reset the boiler, check that pilot light is on. If your boiler is older than 10 years, it may have a pilot light instead of a reset function so check that the pilot light is on. Refer to the manual and you may be able to relight the boiler yourself.
- Very cold weather can cause the condensate pipe to freeze over (causing the boiler to stop working). A simple fix is to pour warm water over the condensate pipe, this should hopefully get the heating and hot water back on. You should check whether your condensate pipe has any type of insulation around it.
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Frost/ice damage prevention:
If you are away from the property for any period during the winter, please ensure that your heating is left on a timer to prevent frost and ice damage.
Water leaks:
If you have a water leak, please ensure the water is turned off at the mains before contacting us. If you have no water, you will need to check that the ‘stop tap’ has not been turned off and contact the local provider. We recommend that you locate your ‘stop tap’ now and call the office if you cannot locate it.
Drains:
You are responsible for clearing any blockage of over-flow when any occur in any of the drains, gutters, down-pipes, sinks, toilets, or waste pipes, if the blockage is caused by yours or visitors’ negligence or misuse.
Should our contractor tend to a blockage which is a result of your negligence or misuse, you will be liable for any costs to clear the blockage.
Saniflo toilets: If you have a saniflo or macerator toilet you will need to take extra care with maintaining. Macerator toilets do have a tendency to get clogged more often. Only put organic waste (urine, faeces, toilet paper) in a saniflo system. Sanitary pads or baby wipes will clog the toilet. You must flush the saniflo toilet at least once a day. Without daily flushing, the contents within the saniflo can dry, causing the tank to break down, making it difficult to restore.
You will not be able to use if the power goes out A saniflo or macerator toilet relies on electricity to power the macerator and pump the waste out of the toilet. In the event of a blackout (or you fail to pay your electricity bills), you will not be able to use the saniflo.
Legionella
Legionella bacteria is commonly found in water. In most residential settings, the risk of exposure to legionella is low. The bacteria is comparatively harmless where it exists in low concentrations. The risk increases where water is stagnant and at a temperature warm enough for the bacteria to breed.
There are some things which you can do to reduce the potential risk of contracting Legionnaires’ disease which are as follows:
- If you have been away for a week or more, run the water through to clear the water that has been sitting in the hot and cold-water system (turning on taps in basins and baths and flushing the toilets is the most effective)
- Regularly clean and disinfect showerheads
- Inform your property manager if the hot water is not heating properly
- Run water regularly through unused outlets for example, of you have an en-suite bathroom in a guest bedroom that is not used very often, then ensure you run water through both taps on the hand basin and the toilet and shower periodically
Mould/condensation:
Please find a guide attached on how to manage condensation.
Locked out:
If you lock yourself out of the property and a locksmith attends, you will be responsible for all associated costs. Should you misplace your keys it may be possible for you to borrow a set of keys from The Letting Game. You will be required to present a copy of your ID and leave a £20 cash deposit in the office which will be refunded to you upon returning the keys. Please also note that the keys will need to be returned on the same day as they are borrowed.
Emergency maintenance:
All maintenance should be logged on-line via Fixflo.
Leaving the property
So you’re leaving your rented property. We’ve put together a useful check out manual that walks you through the important next steps. From cleaning the property to returning the keys, deposits to meter readings, you’ll find the key information here.
