Tenants should be encouraged not to report repair issues verbally over the phone, the Property Ombudsman has said.
Christopher Hamer said it is important for there to be a paper trail.
A new survey, by property repairs software company Fixflo, found that half of tenants report repair issues over the phone.
But Christopher Hamer said: “TPO’s lettings code of practice requires member agents to keep full written records of all communications with tenants and landlords for at least six years and to be able to produce those records upon demand.
“As a matter of best practice, I also consider it prudent for agents to ask for tenant repair requests to be submitted in writing so that there is a clear trail of exactly what was reported and when that report was received.”
Last year, 8% of letting issues investigated by TPO related to repairs and maintenance, and 13% to poor communication.
Rajeev Nayyar, managing director of Fixflo, said: “Although the survey indicates that a high proportion of tenants still report repairs by telephone we have seen strong growth this year.
“Well over a thousand tenants a week are now reporting repairs online through the Fixflo system, meaning that both they and their property manager have the added protection of time and date-stamped repair requests.”
Managing agents and landlords ought to have a look at Fixflow. The company has an innovative reporting system where tenants can report faults online. The company is run by Rajeev who is passionate about Fixflow who offers a well respected solution. More than happy to recommend this innovative solution.
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Having worked for the public sector for 30 years, I know all too well the importance of audit trails when it comes to requests. I have already built a system similar to Fixflo that our tenants and landlords are using and really love it. They say that any requests submitted are easily found and tracked.
We also use it for instructing contractors and the reference number generated by the request, is the reference they put on the invoice which they upload along with any photographs. The system is also used by vendors and purchasers so they can see the progress of the transaction.
The beauty of our system is that we can BCC users in the requests if required.
In the current climate, it is of paramount importance that as an agent use such systems and as an ICO registered agent, we took the decision to build our own and keep it all in house so we can take control of the data.
Had we not built our system, we may have looked at fixflo but for now we are more than happy with what we have, but more importantly we continue to adhere to TPO guidelines!
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I hate advertorials.
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So… write some "news" then! Ros would love to hear from you…
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If you had the job of a journalist Mr Walker you would love them. When there is limited actual news and your waiting public are hoping for something to read whilst they settle in the office with their cup of tea what to do?
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Easy solution.. Have tenants email or text problems to you. You have a paper trail and it doesn't cost a penny.
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