As well as breaking unexpectedly, many parts of our homes suffer routine wear and tear. Things age and building standards change – so we invest millions of pounds every year in planned updates and improvements to our customers’ homes. This includes things like replacing boilers, windows, kitchens and bathrooms. So, for example, while a boiler might last up to 20 years, we plan to replace them after 12 years because they are more likely to fail as they get older.
Work like this is usually scheduled well in advance according to the age and style of properties. That helps us get good deals on materials and allows us to use our trained team members and their
time most efficiently.
Sometimes when we investigate a fault we may decide that you need a full replacement rather than a repair. When this is the case you may need to wait longer than for a standard repair because we will
schedule it into our planned repairs programme. Of course if some work is needed sooner to make things safe we will take care of that but carry out the full replacement at a later date.
If we tell you that something will be replaced as a planned repair it may typically mean a wait of up to six months or more for the job to be completed, unless there is a new risk or sudden deterioration – in which case please let us know. However some planned work may be done within three months. This includes jobs such as fixing cracked plaster, problems with internal doors, skirting boards and window frames (where the window fault doesn’t make your home insecure).
In 2021-22 we invested £10.7m in maintaining and improving customers' homes. This included installing 119 new kitchens, 156 new bathrooms, almost 500 windows and doors and 230 roof replacements or upgrades.
