to think housing associations are going to have to start doing checks outside office hours.

[JenniferBooth]

The amount of checks HAs have to do is increasing
Gas safety checks are once a year and have been around for a while. Electric checks are every five years so not as often.

Last month a new rule came in for fire door checks. fireconsultancyspecialists.co.uk/fire-safety-regulations-2022-fire-door-requirements-from-23-jan-2023/

There seems to be some confusion whether its once a year or every three months but tenants will also need to be in for this if the door of their actual flat is a fire door so they can test it to see if it closes by itself.

There will highly likely be checks brought in for mould so that will be another inspection that tenants will have to be in for.

Tenants should not be expected to use up annual leave to facilitate all this so either employment legislation needs to change so tenants have a right to time off for all this in law or they need to start working round tenants schedules.

Everybody has to be in for things like these, not just HA tenants,

Home owners can and do have these checks done but are not compelled to by law

HA tenants are more likely to be in precarious ZHC type jobs and if have to keep taking time off may well not be given the hours again. Thats why i also mentioned employment legislation

Most gas, electric, non-gas and lifts inspection checks are outsourced and the contractors do not get paid very much per check at all. It's far less than you'd think.

Your options are to insist that you get them done during school holidays (if you are normally home) or you can try to insist on weekends only as your only availability but YMMV on that one, it'll depend on how sympathetic your HA is and your tolerance for legal fees.

But, honestly, I think the safety checks are just the price of admission for living in an HA property. Remember, if they do find something wrong your HA will have to sort it and you're not out of pocket for a new boiler, CCU, etc. So swings and roundabouts really.

@LovelyLovelyWarmCoffee if its about safety then explain the situation in my post at 15.12

But the checks don't require you to be present. When we rented the 5 year electrical check and the gas check was fine, we weren't home for either, the landlord simply informed us they were required and asked if a certain date was ok for each, they he arranged to give a key to the contractor. Our landlord managed 2 properties, his parents former home and his wife's parents former home - I'm sure a housing association would have the capacity to give keys out with all their staff!

Many of us have had contractors not show up and then received gaslighting letters saying they couldnt get access. Then it has to be booked AGAIN and the tenant has to wait in AGAIN. The contractors our HA were using missed three appointments in a row.

Our HA and the HA my friend rents from will not allow that. The tenant has to be home.

One memorable check involved an interesting chat with a contractor who said his wife had run up gambling debts Both DH and i looked at each other and said no chance. Contractor was from same company mentioned above.

Contrary to popular belief about SH tenants i have contents insurance. Would they pay out if something went missing or was damaged? Or would they say tough shit you chose not to be there.

If this is the case follow your HA's complaints procedure. This shouldn't be happening at all and the HA needs to know about it so it can be dealt with.

Ermmm the letters are FROM the HA

It started off as a leak, and then they cut a section of the pipe. Visit number 7 happening on Friday and despite everything they have refused to come on the weekend, as its not classed as an emergency

I have just started the complaint procedure with my HA, in it they blamed me for having to cancel an appointment last minute (at 8am when they were due at 8am) and then followed up with I had turned the contractor away,\as they didnt reach him in time. Keep in mind this was the letter they sent me after my first official complaint.

They are right I cancelled at 8am on the day, but only because all the numbers I tried at the weekend said they didnt have access to the systems to be able to cancel. I was at home that day till 10.30am and no one knocked at my door, for me to be able to turn them away

@gazpachosoupday i suspect they dont work weekends AT ALL.

In the summer of 2020 we had a roof renewal Was dusty and noisy A tenant several doors down had a massive leak which came through the ceiling of his kitchen through his light fitting It was a Saturday night in late July pissing it down and all he/we had as a temporary roof was some sort of blue sheeting. He spent over an hour trying to get someone from the HA out and couldnt so called the fire brigade. They sorted it but the fire chief was not happy but he wasnt annoyed at the tenant he was annoyed at the contractors.

We are being gaslighted when they say its about safety because if it was they would be dealing with situations like this one ASAP.

Its not about safety. Its the checks themselves that are making money.

HA don't hold copies of keys, except for empty unrented properties. Tenants have the only keys. Locks are changed between tenants

What happens if you tell your HA that you can't wait in in person but your neighbour will wait in for you? They have a duty to do them within 12 months so I think if you offered them access (but not you) within 12 months or you in person but in 14
Months I think they would go for the former.

With your neighbour that is unacceptable that he couldn't get through to someone from out of hours within a short time when he had the roof leak. What did they do when he complained?

It's not the day it's the timings. Having to take a whole day's A/L for a 20 minute appointment when, if they broke it down to AM/PM appointments there would be no issues (as I could work around whatever shift I was on), is ridiculous. I asked if the contractor could text to let me know he is on his way and I could pop home from work (a 15 minute drive away), then make up the time when I got back, but no, that's not an option either.

I agree there should be am or pm appointments if you need, that is v annoying to wait in all day.

If the contractor doesn't show up and then says it was a no access than that is a reason to complain regardless of who notified you about that. I've supported tenants with these kinds of complaints and no accesses that aren't no accesses are a pretty common complaint.

YMMV but depending on your HA if you don't want to go the formal complaint route tweeting their CEO/head of maintenance/ompliance could be helpful. Some HAs are very responsive to complaints on SM.

@40sNonBlondes what are the monthly inspections for? I've not heard of that before

@ThreeFeetTall I dont know if he took it further but i went down there on the night to give him the number of the roof contractors after i saw the firefighters talking to him in the carpark. Which is when i spoke to the other tenant and one of the firefighters.

Did he call the out of hours repairs service? (Rather than the roofing contact it's direct) They don't tend to fix the whole problem but will do what's needed to make safe (ie stop water coming into his property)
He should complain if he couldn't get through to them, who knows what other problems might get missed if they aren't contactable!

@JenniferBooth I know ours do for emergency call outs only.

But I know it varies between HA.

From this thread, my HA doesnt hold keys, does do AM/PM appointments but doesnt tell us till the day which one, insists that the tennent is here, is very quick if something happens to the rent, but doesnt actually give a shit about anything else

@crowsfeet57 is right - it’s only communal doors that will be checked every 3 months. The HA have to tell tenants about it so that you are aware of the following:

“Information responsible persons should give to residents
The information given to residents should cover the importance of keeping doors closed, that doors and self-closing devices are not tampered with and that any faults or damage to doors should be raised immediately.
Residents will receive this information when they move into a multi-occupied residential building and then on an annual basis.”

So basically a whole money making industry has grown on the back of the Grenfell tragedy.

It isn't the HA getting rich.

Bacon They can do all of that, it is v.frustrating that yours don't. Mine offers AM, PM, school hours and all day appointments, plus texts.

@ThreeFeetTall they are calling them "safety inspections". The amount of stress it causes having to prioritise half my annual leave (before i've even deducted bank holidays) is horrible. I'm left with around 6 days for the whole year and every month i wonder if carrying on working is possible.

To those that say it's the price of HA accommodation, isn't that the above market £1300 monthly rent I pay?

Private tenants have had to have gas and electrical tests for years legally. HA will have to be available for them just like all of the private tenants have to be!