Reporting a fault and maintenance
If something needs to be repaired or fixed or if you are concerned about pest infestation in your residence, please report this immediately by emailing the details to your residence reception, ideally including photos.
If you live in one of the following residences, you can report faults using the Home at Halls app:
- Birks Grange Village (F-Q)
- Duryard
- East Park
- Lafrowda
- Moberly
- Spreytonway
If a member of staff finds a fault during their duties, they will report it and the maintenance team will undertake a repair. These repairs will also take place during the vacations when you may not be in residence.
For fire, flood or other serious emergencies, contact Emergency Services on 999 and the University Security team, Estate Patrol on the emergency telephone number (01392) 722222.
What happens next?
Depending on the type of problem, the fault will either be passed to University Maintenance Service staff or an external contractor. An authorised person will report to your room to carry out the repair. It’s not possible to give notice before the repair and we ask that you please allow access to your room to avoid the repair being delayed.
Maintenance Service staff work Monday to Friday between 8:00am and 8:00pm. Only emergency repairs will be carried out over the weekends and bank holidays.
Out of office hours genuine emergencies, such as lights or cooker not working, or no water can be dealt with by reporting to the reception who will inform the Duty Manager. If your reception is closed at the time of the fault, please contact Estate Patrol team. Non-urgent repairs reported on a Saturday and Sunday will not be dealt with until Monday the following week.
All staff employed by the University or by our partners wear a uniform and a name badge and will carry identification. Outside contractors will also be asked to carry identification and they will have written paperwork detailing the nature of the job that needs to be carried out.
You may ask to see this identification at any time and if you are not sure that the person should be entering your room please call the reception. When somebody has entered your room to carry out a repair a ‘job done’ slip will be left indicating whether the work has been completed or if they need to return.
Work across the campus is prioritised and staff will try to respond as soon as possible, however, this is not guaranteed. If there are problems accessing your room, if new parts are required to complete the repair, or faults are reported late in the day/at the weekend/during bank holidays, or someone other than reception is notified, there may be a delay.
If the problem is of a serious nature we will endeavour to offer you alternative accommodation in accordance with the accommodation agreement.
Please see Maintenance Response Times for response times and note that these timescales are based on the time the fault is received by the Maintenance Service helpdesk (of either the University or Third Party Providers).
If Maintenance have attended then the 'job done' slip left in your room should tell you that they have successfully dealt with the issue, or whether part of the work could not be fully completed for any reason.
If the problem reoccurs, or you are unhappy with how the work has been carried out, then please fill out an Accommodation Concerns form to notify us so that we can investigate on your behalf.
Throughout the year, planned maintenance will be scheduled and carried out within the residences (e.g. testing of portable electrical appliances, gas safety checks, etc.). Usually, you will be given at least seven days advance notice by email. This planned maintenance will also take place during vacations when you may not be in residence.
The gas and electrical equipment provided by the University or third-party provider is routinely checked, in line with statutory requirements, to ensure it is safe. However, should you have any concerns about a particular item please contact reception.
Under the terms of your contract, all electrical equipment must be safe, CE marked, have sound mains lead and plug, and be correctly fused.
For health and safety reasons, no deep fat fryers are allowed anywhere in the residences and no cooking equipment is allowed in bedrooms.
Electrical items brought in by students must not have any visible damage to the wires, cables or plug. If they show any sign of damage or appear unsafe, the student will be required to have the item PAT tested, which they will need to pay for. Equipment considered to be unsafe or a safety risk may be removed at the expense of the resident and returned only at the end of the accommodation agreement, unless the resident pays for testing which results in the equipment being shown to be safe.
