What to do about storm damage

Stormy weather is upon us, so stay safe.

And if you're unfortunate enough to suffer damage to your home caused by strong winds - damage to a roof, a fence, a wall or trees and branches falling -  think twice before venturing out to try and fix damage yourself.

The Met Office has published some useful advice on how to stay safe in a storm on the Met Office website.

For support and queries when your home has been impacted by the weather please get in touch with us. Remember if you feel it is a real emergency call 0800 652 0898 straight away, day or night. Bad weather means our lines do get very busy so we ask for your patience when calling. If the damage is not life-threatening or causing significant inconvience we ask if you can email us if possible. We usually reply before the end of the following working day.

Here are some of the common questions our customer services teams get asked when the weather turns nasty:

A tile’s fallen off my roof/my roof is leaking? Can you fix it?

We’re responsible for tenants’ roofs and the roofs of blocks of shared owner/leasehold flats. If you’re a shared owner or freeholder living in a house, and aren't still within the defects period, the roof is your responsibility.

Please note, if winds are still high we’re not allowed to do roofing as it will be not safe. But we'll get out as quickly as we can to make repair. Depending on the size of the problem, this may be a temporary repair. If we can’t get on the roof to fix it and there’s a leak, we’ll see if we can do something from the inside to stop water getting in to your home.

My gutter is leaking or broken. Will you repair it?

Guttering work is completed by our contractor, Shine On.  We’ll pass your details to them, and they’ll contact you with an appointment date. Most of these works will be completed as routine repairs, but if something is dangerous it will be dealt with more quickly.

A fence or wall is broken. Will you fix it?

Check your lease or tenancy before you call us to see who's responsible for the wall or fence. We ask if you can only call if it’s unclear or clearly our responsibility, as our lines are likely to be particularly busy after very bad weather.

Let us know how many panels are broken or the rough size of the wall. Let us know what is on each side of the wall. Is it a road, for example?

We’ll probably need to check your tenancy or lease agreement and confirm who owns the fence with the land registry. As a rule, if a fence is between two of our homes,  it’s usually the customers’ responsibility.

It’s VIVID’s responsibility. When will you fix it?

Our priority's to make sure that things are safe. So, if walls or fences have fallen, we’ll get out as quickly as we can to make these safe. If you are fit and healthy, and it’s safe for you to do this yourself, you can do so at your own risk. But if you call us, we’ll assess how dangerous it is to determine how quickly we need to visit, depending on the risk.

In most cases, repairs to fences and walls are treated as routine jobs, once we’re sure the fence or wall is safe. 

If a very large fence is damaged, we may need do this work as part of a programme. because of the time it will take, so we may not be able to give you a date straight away.

A tree or branch has come down or looks dangerous. What should I do?

Firstly, we’ll check if the tree's ours. If it is, we’ll then need to assess if it’s safe or not so,  we’ll probably need to come to take a look. We always try and focus on the most dangerous trees first such as ones that are leaning or broken and presenting a risk to homes or places where people need to pass by.