Reporting a repair

Find out how to report a repair, what information we need from you, what happens at your repair appointment, and how we prioritise repairs.

What you can report repairs for

You can report repairs for:

  • your home
  • your garage, if you rent a garage from Gentoo
  • communal areas and facilities, if you live in a building that has them

How to report a repair

You can call 0191 525 5000 and select option 2, Monday to Thursday, from 8:30am to 5pm, and Friday, from 8:30am to 12:30pm.

If you call us outside of these times, you will only be able to report an emergency repair.

Mondays and Tuesdays are the days when we get the most calls about repairs. This means call waiting times are less on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

You can also:

You can also fill in the ask about a repair form for a repair you have already reported.

There are checks you can do before you report a repair if you have no heating or hot water.

When you report a repair

We will need to know:

  • your name, address and telephone number
  • as much information as possible about the repair
  • if there is an immediate risk to your health and safety or damage to your home
  • when you are available for someone to visit and inspect or repair your home
  • anything about your personal circumstances that would help, like you have hearing loss or find it hard to get to the door

We will:

  • give you a date and time slot for the appointment
  • send a text to your mobile to confirm the appointment date

Reminder text messages

Where possible, we will send text reminders 7 days before your appointment and at 9am the day before.

On the day of the appointment

We will call you to let you know we are on our way.

Always ask to see a tradesperson’s identification. Call us on 0191 525 5000 and select option 2 if you would like to confirm someone’s identity.

You must:

  • clean and clear the area around the repair as much as possible
  • have someone aged 18 or over at your home for your appointment
  • keep any pets out of the way and under control
  • not smoke inside your home while we are completing a repair

If you need to you can cancel or rearrange your repair appointment.

Waiting times and how we prioritise repairs

We prioritise repairs for vulnerable tenants, and repairs that would seriously affect your health, safety and wellbeing.

Emergency repairs

These repairs are a risk to life or danger to property if we do not repair them quickly. We will respond to emergency repairs within 24 hours.

Call 0191 525 5000 and select option 2 to report an emergency repair, 24 hours a day.

Find out more about emergency repairs.

Urgent repairs

These repairs are not emergencies but will prevent:

  • health and safety risks
  • serious inconvenience
  • further damage to your home

We will respond to urgent repairs within 7 days.

Routine repairs

These repairs do not risk your health or safety, or further damage to your home. We will respond to routine repairs within 28 days.

Planned repairs

These are larger repairs we complete in a planned way and there is no risk to you or your home. We may need time to order materials or organise different tradespeople. It may include:

  • brickwork
  • guttering
  • roofing
  • replacing your kitchen or bathroom

We respond to planned repairs within 180 days.