You can report repairs in the following ways:
Repairs are carried out by our in-house Hillcrest Maintenance team, and we also use a number of approved external contractors.
Emergency Repairs
Timescale: within 4 hours
These are repairs that are needed to prevent serious damage to the building, are a danger to health, a risk to safety, or a risk of serious loss or damage to the occupier’s property.
Examples are: Fire damage, flooding, gas leak, break in, no heating or hot water, blocked sink, blocked toilet (if it’s the only toilet in the house), total power failure.
Please note our engineers do not attend to reports of no heating after 9 pm, this will be attended to the following day.
Non-Emergency Repairs
Timescale: 10 working days.
Examples are: blocked toilet (where there is another toilet in the house), broken doorbell, broken cupboard door, appliance repair, damaged rotary dryer.
When you report a repair we need information about the issue and we will log the details on our computer system. We will also confirm your contact details.
We will tell you who will carry out the repair and they will show you ID when they call at your door.
We have an appointment system for repairs carried out by Hillcrest Maintenance and you may be offered a morning (8am – 12 noon) or an afternoon (12 noon – 4pm) appointment. This does not include emergencies.
Under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, Scottish secure tenants and short Scottish secure tenants have the right to have small urgent repairs carried out by their landlord within a given timescale.
When you report a repair we will advise you if your repair qualifies and the maximum timescale Hillcrest have to complete your repair. We may need to inspect your property first to see if the repair qualifies.
A list of repairs that qualify and timescales is provided below. If these repairs are not started within the timescales provided in the scheme, you have the right to contact us to ask us to arrange for an alternative contractor to attend. This does not apply to new build properties that are under the Defects Liability Period (within the first year of being built).
From the time that you report a repair or if the repair has to be inspected our contractor will have to complete the work within agreed timescales. Failure to complete the work on time will result in you being eligible for compensation.
The time taken to complete a repair will depend on the type of repair. The time starts from the working day after the repair was reported or inspected. Working days are Mondays to Fridays.
Type of repair |
Maximum no. of working days |
| Blocked flue to open fire or boiler | 1 |
| Blocked or leaking foul drains, soil stacks or toilet pans where there is no other toilet in the house | 1 |
| Blocked sink, bath or drain | 1 |
| Loss of electric power | 1 |
| Partial loss of electric power | 3 |
| Insecure external window, door or lock | 1 |
| Unsafe access path or step | 1 |
| Significant leaks or flooding from water or heating pipes, tanks or cisterns | 1 |
| Loss or partial loss of gas supply | 1 |
| Loss or partial loss of space or water heating where no alternative heating is available | 1 |
| Toilet not flushing where there is no other toilet in the house | 1 |
| Unsafe power or lighting socket, or electrical fitting | 1 |
| Loss of water supply | 1 |
| Partial loss of water supply | 3 |
| Loose or detached banister or hand rail | 3 |
| Unsafe timber flooring or stair treads | 3 |
| Mechanical extractor fan in internal kitchen or bathroom not working | 7 |
If the contractor does not start the repair within the maximum time limit you will be entitled to £15 compensation. We will then pay a further £3 per working day until the repair is complete up to a maximum of £100 (provided there are no exceptional circumstances)
If you owe us any money we may offset the compensation against your account.
There are also some exceptions to the Qualifying Repairs regulations. Our contractors will advise you if the repair qualifies or if other factors mean that the repair will be exempt.
The exemptions to the Qualifying Repairs regulations are:
If you want any further information please contact the repairs customer service team on 08000 324888 or email repair@hillcrest.org.uk
The full legislation is available https://www.gov.scot/publications/right-repair/