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Published: Tuesday, 01 February 2022 13:54

The Bridge Housing approach to repairs and maintenance

Whenever we survey our tenants on what’s important to them, ‘repairs and maintenance’ always comes up as one of the most important considerations.

It makes sense, as keeping your home in good repair helps to ensure safety, comfort and pride in your surroundings.

At Bridge Housing, we put a lot of thought and planning into proactive maintenance, to help keep all properties in good shape and catch small issues before they become big problems.

“We have won industry awards for our strategic approach to property maintenance, and we strive to achieve a high standard of workmanship, responsiveness and customer service,” says Theo Posumah, Bridge Housing’s Director of Assets.

“We spent a record $10.7 million on property maintenance last year: it’s a huge priority for us,” says Theo.  

Our repairs and maintenance falls under the three broad categories of:

  • Planned works that are scheduled (projects such as repainting or roof replacement);
  • Cyclical works which recur on a regular calendar basis (such as lawnmowing, fire safety inspections and common area cleaning); and
  • Responsive works, which includes dealing in a timely manner with emergency issues (like a burst pipe), urgent repairs (like a broken appliance) and routine repairs (like a wobbly pantry door) that have been brought to our attention.

We ask that tenants notify us as soon as they become aware of any repair issues, by phone where possible. If there’s a problem, we want to know about it! Emergency and urgent repairs can be reported at any time, day or night, as our phones are diverted to an after-hours service when the office is closed.

In mid-2021, we brought repairs for all Bridge Housing properties under the one roof with a single service provider, Assett Group Services (AGS). We now have full visibility and management of works scheduled and completed. This has also enabled us to ramp up works in the Northern Beaches portfolio that was transferred to our management in mid-2019.

“We have spent $3 million on improvements over the past two years and will be undertaking a further $4 million of planned works this year alone, helping to address some of historical issues in these properties,” says Theo. “There’s a lot still to be done, but we are making great progress.”

While the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions impacted our ability to undertake routine works, we are now able to complete both urgent and routine maintenance, in a COVID-safe manner.

“We always welcome suggestions and feedback from our tenants on repairs and maintenance and we send a survey after every maintenance visit to keep an eye on how we are doing,” says Sustainable Communities Manager, Sarah Barclay.

“There are a whole range of ways tenants can get involved in having a say about what we do, including Tenant Advisory Groups, Time to Talk sessions with management and tenant panels and workshops.

“Check out the Tenants section on the website or get in touch with the Communities team on 8324 0836 to find out more,” says Sarah.

For more information on all aspects of repairs and maintenance at Bridge Housing, visit https://www.bridgehousing.org.au/repairs

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