How to find a good contractor when your usual one can’t come

When your usual contractor can’t come, ask them who they would send. If they can’t help, find a trade whose registration you can check, and check it. Agree the job in writing before they start, and tell your tenant who is coming.

First: is anyone in danger?

A smell of gas, a carbon monoxide alarm sounding, sparks or a burning smell, or water near electrics comes before any repair. Your tenant’s page gives them the emergency numbers and what to do first. Gas smell, carbon monoxide or a power cut: what to do first shows those words, and what you do next.

Ask your usual trade who they would send

Many trades know others they trust in the same area. Ask who they would use themselves, and whether they can pass on a number.

If they can come later, ask when. A firm time from someone you know may suit you better than a stranger now, unless the repair can’t wait.

Where to look

For a boiler, a gas fire or anything else on the gas, look for a Gas Safe registered engineer. Check their number on the Gas Safe Register before they come.

For other work, such as electrics, plumbing, locks or building work, ask which registration scheme or trade body they belong to. Then look them up on that body’s own register, not just its logo on their van or website.

Then ask people you know: other landlords, the neighbours at the property, or a letting agent you have used. A name that comes with a recent job you can ask about is worth more than an advert.

Checks before you book

A few questions on the phone save trouble later.

• Their registration number, checked on the scheme’s own register. For gas, that’s the Gas Safe Register.
• That they hold public liability insurance, and who it is with.
• A written price for the job, or a written estimate with a limit they won’t go over without asking you.
• A name, an address and a phone number you can reach them on after the job.

Take care with a trade who won’t put a price in writing, wants all the money before starting, or presses you to decide on the spot. Paying in stages keeps more of the money in your hands until the work is done.

Agree the job before they start

Put the job in writing, even a short email or message.

• What is wrong and where, with your tenant’s photos if there are some.
• The price, or how much they can spend without ringing you first.
• How they get in, once your tenant knows they’re coming.
• That the invoice comes to you, saying what was done.

Keep door, gate and key-safe codes out of writing: give them by phone. A note to a trade in the app won’t send one that reads like a code.

Sending the repair from the app does much of this. The trade gets an email with a link to take it. They see what’s wrong, with your tenant’s words and photos where there are some, and your spending limit as your instruction. Once they take it, they get the address and your tenant’s number.

Tell your tenant who is coming

Tell your tenant the trade’s name, the day and the time, and who to ring if plans change. Agreeing a time with them usually goes best.

In the app, Send Update tells your tenant what’s happening, and Propose Visit Times lets them choose a time on their page. When the trade sends the time they’ve agreed with your tenant, with Send Visit Time, your tenant is emailed it and can say if it’s wrong.

Afterwards

Keep the invoice, photos of the work and any certificate with the repair, with what it cost.

In the app, the trade can send photos of the work, what they did and their invoice from their job page, and each step shows on the repair. Mark Done records the day and the cost, and Add Photos adds your own.

Before next time

When a new trade does good work, keep their details, and aim for a second name for each kind of job. Then the next time your usual trade can’t come, you already have someone to ask.

What the law says

In England, each gas appliance and flue you are responsible for must be checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer. The first check is within 12 months of installation, then at intervals of no more than 12 months.

You must keep in repair the structure and exterior. You must also keep in repair and proper working order the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, space heating and heating water.

For your tenant’s own home, you aren’t liable for disrepair until you have notice of it. The work is then due within a reasonable time, which depends on the circumstances: the court decides.

Your tenant must allow access for repairs you are entitled to do, and the Act states no notice period for that. GOV.UK recommends at least 24 hours’ written notice at reasonable hours, possibly shorter in an emergency. If you are refused, it recommends seeking legal advice and keeping a record of every attempt to get in.