Repairs policy

Introduction

The repairs service at Magna is crucial for our customers. It keeps them safe, comfortable, and happy in their homes. It also helps us meet legal requirements.

This policy explains how we manage daily repair requests to ensure a high- quality service, keeping homes safe and well-maintained. It connects with other maintenance activities like servicing and planned maintenance.

This policy sets clear standards for our repairs service to ensure consistent and effective delivery for customers and colleagues.

Who this policy applies to and what it covers

The policy applies to all types of housing. The repairs services and responsibilities are determined by the current tenancy agreement or lease.

This policy covers homes, communal areas, garages, and commercial units owned or managed by Magna Housing. It also applies to homes we manage for other organisations, unless set out differently in the management agreement.

This policy and its standards apply to both our own team and any external contractors. External suppliers must follow this policy and its standards, whether working during office hours or after hours.

A responsive repair is a small, day-to-day repair that is not planned. It includes fixing one or more defects that can be scheduled and completed by appointment with the customer, usually taking no more than five hours.

Our repairs policy

We are dedicated to providing the best repairs service because we know it is highly valued by our customers.

We aim to deliver a repairs service that: ensures the safety of our customers and colleagues; is efficient and effective; and gets things right first time.

We will also comply with all legal and regulatory guidelines, including the Regulator of Social Housing’s Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law.

We will work closely with our customers to develop and define our standards, using their feedback to continuously improve.

Our approach to delivering an effective repairs service

To provide an effective and efficient repairs service, we will:

• Make it easy for customers to report repairs in ways that suit them, including online, by phone and in-person.

• Make sure customers can report emergency repairs 24/7, all year round.
• Make sure all repairs are completed safely and to the required standard by qualified personnel, whether from Magna or external contractors.
• Provide our teams with the necessary training and support to work safely and according to regulations.
• Be transparent about which repairs we are responsible for, clearly defined in tenancy agreements and explained to customers.
• Offer advice and resources to customers for repairs that are not our responsibility.
• Charge customers for repairs needed due to deliberate or accidental damage, neglect or misuse.
• Focus on value for money in delivering repairs, managing supply chains and procuring services, comparing internal and external costs.
• Analyse repair spending trends to plan future maintenance and balance spending on response and planned repairs.
• Ensure strong contract management and effective controls for services provided by external suppliers.
• Deliver services in ethical and sustainable ways, in line with Magna’s values.

Types of repairs

We have three types of repairs:

• Emergency repairs: These are emergency issues that could harm health, safety, or security. We will respond in 24 hours to make them safe and come back later if there are further repairs required. Customers can report emergency repairs via our phone lines 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Urgent repairs: These repairs are not emergency issues but need to be completed sooner than 28 days, as they could become an emergency if not fixed. We aim to respond within five working days.
• Routine repairs: These are standard repairs as set out in the tenancy agreement. We will aim to respond within 28 days.

Other repair work includes:

• Major repairs: These are larger day-to-day repairs that are not part of our regular planned investment works. We classify these as repairs that take more than five hours and/or several days to complete. We aim to respond within three months, prioritising based on risk.
• Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) category 1 reports: We use a national system to check for serious health and safety risks in homes. If we’re told about a serious issue—like a fire risk, dangerous damp, or a structural problem—we’ll send a surveyor within one working day if it’s an emergency. We’ll make it safe straight away and may come back later to finish the repair. Some problems, like overcrowding, will be assessed and managed through other appropriate processes.
• Damp and mould response: We’re committed to acting quickly when damp and mould is reported, especially if they could affect your health or safety. From October 2025, a new law called Awaab’s Law means we must investigate and fix serious damp, mould, and emergency hazards within set timeframes. You can see how quickly we’ll respond to different issues in the table below.

We are committed to being clear and open with our customers. Following an inspection of an emergency or significant hazard, we will give customers a copy of the surveyor’s report, including:

• A summary of what we found.
• Our classification of the hazard(s) identified.
• How we plan to fix it and by when.

Temporary relocation (Decanting)

Where there is a significant health or safety risk, such as severe damp and mould, and we are unable to complete the necessary repairs within the appropriate timeframe, we will:

• Assess the need to provide temporary accommodation for customers as part of our investigation.
• Offer suitable alternative housing, if staying in the home would pose a risk to health or wellbeing
• Support customers throughout the process of moving to temporary relocation (as set out in section 5 of our Tenancy Management Policy).

Our priority is that no customer lives in unsafe or unhealthy conditions.

We’re committed to completing repairs within our agreed timescales — at least 80% of the time for urgent and routine repairs, and 100% of the time for HHSRS Category 1 emergencies.

During periods of high demand, such as severe weather, response times may be longer. If we’re unable to meet the expected timescales, we’ll keep customers informed and updated throughout.

Communicating with customers

We understand the importance of keeping customers informed about their repairs. We will update customers when appointments are booked and on the day of the appointment. If repairs need to be cancelled or rescheduled, we will notify customers as soon as possible.

Helping vulnerable customers

We prioritise the wellbeing of our customers when categorising repairs. We consider individual circumstances, including vulnerabilities and health conditions, which may require faster attention. For example, a routine repair might be classified as urgent based on the customer’s situation.

Responsibilities

The Director of Customer Operations is responsible for all aspects of repairs at Magna, including developing and reviewing the repairs policy to make sure it meets all regulatory requirements. The policy will also be considered every three years by the Strategic Board.

The Head of Building Safety, Compliance and Home Services oversees the day- to-day repair activities, ensures accurate repair data, and reports on repairs management. They also make sure their team has the necessary skills and knowledge to work effectively and safely.

The Head of Customer Contact and Community Support is responsible for making sure that customers can easily report repairs and raise concerns. They will also make sure that customers are aware of and supported in using our complaints process, including escalation routes in line with our Complaints Policy and the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.

The Head of Asset Investment Delivery is responsible for making sure that all homes are regularly surveyed and assessed against the government’s Decent Home Standard to keep them safe, healthy and suitable to live in, and compliant with the relevant regulations.

Customers are responsible for keeping their homes and gardens in good condition, reporting any repairs needed promptly, and allowing us access to do inspections and repairs, as required by their tenancy agreement or lease.

We will report our performance on repairs to managers and directors, covering service quality, cost and demand. High-level performance indicators are regularly reported to the Strategic Board. We also report to customers at least annually on our repairs service performance, including against our Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs).