The switch properties maintenance process is straightforward and to the point.

Our maintenance process has been designed specifically to be as easy as possible to follow along with whether you’re a tenant, a landlord or a subcontractor.

How does it work for a non-emergency?

We actually have quite a handy little info graphic on the Direct Hub regarding this topic. But we will delve into it here in this article as well.

The best and easiest way to submit a maintenance request is to fill out the report a repair form on our website.

Firstly, what is defined as non-emergency maintenance?

non-emergency maintenance is maintenance that is not causing the property to become uninhabitable, i.e. a wonky chair leg/a broken light bulb, these issues while they have a categorisation of importance, are not the highest priority hence we might take slightly longer depending on how busy we are as we deal with high priority issues such as leaks and floods.

The process for Non-emergency maintenance is as follows.

1. Identify the issue
That means you take a look at the issue at hand, what is the cause? is it something that just requires you to flip a switch on a fuse box? Is it something that you can resolve yourself saving time and stress?
2. Take a Picture
A picture says a thousand words, it’ll help us to determine the priority of the issue, for example a leak can be a single drop every few minutes to a small stream of water spouting forth, we won’t know until we see the picture.
3. E-Mail it – Ditch the phone.
We check our repairs@switchproperties.co.uk inbox constantly, so make sure to send an e-mail here. Alternatively, just fill out the report a repair form listed above, its a lot easier for both parties.
4. Relax
It actually is THAT simple. We greatly prefer for you to utilise report a repair as this makes everything easier for us to process, meaning shorter waiting times for maintenance to be resolved as we can devote more time to getting work done rather than data transfer/administration that comes with dealing with phone calls.

What about emergency maintenance? what does emergency maintenance mean?

Emergency maintenance can be defined as an issue that causes your living space to become uninhabitable i.e. you live in a basement flat and the entire basement becomes flooded. we have a procedure in place for every scenario, especially in the case of emergencies.
regardless all emergency maintenance scenarios have a set path to follow which we will lay out below.

1. Identify the issue
That means you take a look at the issue at hand, what is the cause? In the case of an emergency its likely not going to be something you can fix yourself. But there are certain things you can do in these situations. i.e. for a leak from a pipe you could turn off the stop tap, turning off all water flow in the system.

2. Report it
Now is the time to pick up that phone and ring us, this is one of the reasons we ask for you to report non-emergency maintenance via e-mail / report a repair page on our website. Tell us over the phone in detail what exactly is happening, where the issue is emanating from and when it started.

3. Email it
By the time you’re writing up your e-mail we’ll be working to send out a maintenance team to your location immediately. It’s a good idea to write up an e-mail and send it over to us so that both of us can have a record of the issue that has taken place, remember to attach a picture of the issue as well!

4. Wait
Our maintenance team will resolve your issue shortly, all you have to do is wait and once the job is done, simply give us a ring and let us know that everything is OK. If not then we will do whatever is required but please make sure to e-mail us or call us to let us know, as otherwise you could be left waiting for a short while as we deal with other emergency issues for other properties.

I have an understanding of the types of maintenance now, but what am I obligated to take care of myself when I’m staying in my current property?

There’s a few things that you’ll most likely need to take care of yourself when you have moved into the property, such as replacing light bulbs, cleaning the property so that its left in the same state as when you moved in, replacing any damaged items that you may have damaged yourself (i.e. a broken vase etc.) and unclogging sinks/drains/toilets, if you were the one that caused the blockage and if you are able to do so.

You are also obligated to maintain all installed safety features on the property such as fire/smoke alarms. In case of a smoke alarm being removed/damaged you will be liable for a fee and a formal warning from switch properties, as this act would breach fire safety regulations and be putting yourself, your neighbours and the property entrusted to you at risk.

Regarding energy, for tenants who have opted to handle bills by themselves rather than through switch properties, for any energy related queries such as change in pricing, arrears in bills, top-up keys not working etc.
Please refer directly to your energy provider and not to us. This is because as an estate agent, we have no ability to handle issues that you may have with the energy provider such as those previously mentioned.

If however you have taken our bills inclusive package, and you encounter issues with your provider, then as we are providing you that service at a premium, we will intervene on your behalf and resolve the issue to the best of our ability.

Get in touch with us.

switch properties are your local property experts in the South and Central Leeds areas.

Get in touch for a chat on 0113 345 3031 or email info@switchproperties.co.uk.

Check out the Direct Hub for a whole bunch of useful information, such as our pricing structure and our process.

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