We are responsible for ensuring your home is safe, secure, and well maintained. This includes keeping the building watertight and looking after essential installations such as sanitation, gas, electricity, and water supplies. It also means carrying out any repairs you report to us where they fall under our responsibility within a reasonable timeframe.
Our approach
We encourage our tenants to report any repairs as soon as you are aware.
Often disrepair claims can be costly, and time-consuming process for our tenants, even with the ‘no win, no fee’ claims management companies and solicitors are advertising. We are seeing an increase in claim scams, where our tenants are being poorly advised to engage or allow access to their home to facilitate East Suffolk Council access to inspect and complete the necessary remedial works.
More information about disrepair claim scams
Our approach to dealing with disrepair is to actively engage with our tenants to seek alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and to discourage a disrepair claim.
If you are thinking of making a disrepair claim
Report repairs to us via:
- myHome East Suffolk
- contacting our Council Housing Repairs Team
- online housing repair request form
- or by calling Customer Services on 0333 016 2000
If you are dissatisfied with any repairs services you have received from us, you can send a complaint to have this investigated as part of our corporate complaints process. You can submit a complaint by calling us on 0333 016 2000, emailing customerservices@eastsuffolk.gov.uk or you can send us a complaint online.
Housing Ombudsman
Be aware of the following
- All council staff and contractors appointed by the council carry identification. Always ask for identification and, if unsure, do not allow them to enter your home. You can call us on 0333 016 2000 to verify their identity. Contact the police if you feel unsafe.
- If you use a claims management company or solicitor to make a claim on your behalf, you must still allow us access to inspect your home and carry out repairs. Failure to do so could put your tenancy at risk or may result in legal proceedings being brought against you.
- Some legal firms may charge you if you change your mind after pursuing a claim, if the legal representative drops the case, or if you lose.
- Please think carefully before signing anything – don’t be misled.
- If unauthorised alterations or damage caused by you or visitors to your home are identified, you may be charged for the cost of putting that right.
- If your claim is successful, any debts you owe to the Council (e.g. rent arrears) may be deducted from any compensation paid to you. This may mean you get no money if your debts exceed the value of your claim.
Help us to help you
Please keep us up to date with your contact details.
- If you change your phone number, please let us know as soon as possible.
- Please let us know if you have an email address, as this is a quick way for us to contact you and share information.
- If we do not have a valid phone number for you, it may delay inspections and repairs.
Tenancy
Failure to allow access is a breach of your tenancy, and we may take legal action. This could include, serving a Notice of Seeking Possession, or seeking an Injunction to allow us access into your home. In these circumstances we will request our legal costs are covered by the tenant(s).
Your Tenancy Agreement requires you to allow access under sections 3.15 and 3.16.
3.15 “You must allow our Officers or anyone carrying written authorisation from us to enter your property to inspect it or to carry out repairs or improvements. If you do not allow us access we must give you 48 hours notice in writing before we visit and we must tell you what time we will call. We will try to visit in normal working hours. All out Officers carry ID cards, which you should ask to see.”
3.16 “You must allow us to enter your home to carry out any work for as long as it is necessary to do the work.”