What are communal repairs and maintenance?

We prepare estimated service charges before the year begins, based on planned work, previous repair costs and the information we have at the time.

At the end of the year, we calculate the actual charges based on the repairs and services that were carried out during that period.

For communal repairs, it can be difficult to predict exactly what work will be needed. That’s because a lot of repairs happen in response to unexpected problems that appear during the year, such as faults, damage or safety concerns.

Communal repairs cover shared parts of the building or estate, not individual homes, because if something goes wrong it affects all residents.

And anyone can report an issue - whether that’s a resident, a member of staff or a contractor. Once we know about a problem, we’re legally responsible for investigating it and carrying out any repairs needed to keep shared areas safe and well maintained.

Your actual split or share of the costs will be determined by the lease, tenancy agreement or transfer agreement you have with us.

Sometimes a repair might need several visits, because it’s impossible to fix the problem in a single trip. For example, an engineer might have to review the situation first, make the area safe and then order special parts or return with special tools.

You can report a repair online, through My Peabody, by calling our Contact Centre or through the emergency line outside office hours.

If there’s an emergency in a communal area, we’ll attend within four hours to make it safe, or to complete the repair within 24 hours. In higher-risk settings like supported or sheltered housing, we’ll get there even sooner.

For routine repairs, we usually fix the issue within 28 days - and often much sooner. If the job is more complex and needs specialist contractors or scaffolding, it may take a bit longer.