Christmas opening times

We know this has been a challenging year for everyone, so we hope you’re able to enjoy spending much-needed time with your family and friends over the festive period.

Christmas office hours

Our office will be open until 5pm on Friday 23^rd December 2022, and we will then close for Christmas. We will re-open at 9am on Tuesday 3^rd January 2023.

What if I have an emergency repair?

Please don’t worry if you have an emergency repair over the Christmas period. You can still call us even while our offices are closed if it’s an emergency, on 0800 085 1171. Our normal repairs service will resume on 3^rd January.

What is an emergency repair?

An emergency repair is where action is required to remove a danger to a property, its occupants or visitors. The following are classed as emergency repairs:

• Total loss of electric power (not a general failure)
• Total loss of water supply (not a general failure)
• Total or partial loss of heating
• Blocked or leaking foul drain or soil stack

There are other examples of emergency repairs on our website here.

If you have a gas leak or can smell fumes, call National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999.

Tips and advice

Over winter

• Don’t turn off pilot lights on boilers or water heaters unless you’re going away. Even a pilot light gives off a little warmth which helps prevent freezing.
• Don’t allow drips from overflow pipes or taps. Drips and waste water may freeze in cold weather. Replacing a tap washer is a simple DIY job, but if you can’t manage it, do this report it to our Customer Services team straight away.
• All taps should be run, and toilets flushed regularly.

Do you know where your stop tap is?

Every home has a stop tap, which operates the main water flow into the house from the mains supply. This is usually located under the kitchen sink. It’s important that you know where this is, and that it is in working order. In an emergency, the stop tap is used to stop the flow of water entering the property and causing damage.

Frozen pipes

If you’re caught out with frozen pipes, turn on taps and thaw pipes out slowly with moderate heat from a hairdryer, or by placing a warm water bottle on the pipe. If this doesn’t unfreeze pipes, please call 0800 085 1171. Don’t apply a naked flame to the pipe.

Paying your rent over Christmas

We know Christmas can be a difficult time of year financially, but please don’t struggle alone. We want to offer you support this winter so that you can carry on paying your rent and avoid getting into debt. Our dedicated income team and our financial inclusion service can support you to make sure you cover essential costs without missing payments on other priority bills.

If you have any worries at all about paying your rent, please call us on 0800 085 1171 – we’re here to help.