1. General Emergencies
2. Emergency Water Leaks
3. Drains and sewers
4. Lift Emergencies
5. Automatic Gate & Garage Door Failures
6. Fire Alarm Activations
7. Security/ break in
You can report an issue (routine or urgent) online at any time, just click the button below
1. General Emergencies
If you have a problem outside of normal office hours, please follow the instructions below:
- If you have a fire or any other serious emergency which is a threat to life or property, call 999 immediately
- If you can smell gas, call 0800 111 999 immediately
- If you have a power cut or other electrical supply problem, call 105
For other utility supply issues contact your utility provider, as managing agent we are not involved in the supply of utilities to your flat.
If there is an issue with the electrical supply to the common area of the property affecting lighting, emergency lighting or door entry, please contact us via our out of hours procedure (see below).
2. Emergency Water Leaks
If you are experiencing water coming through your ceiling in a flat or apartment please following the instructions below:
- Contact the flat above you and advise them of the problem and ask them to urgently check any accessible pipework or drains to see if there are any obvious problems.
- If the property above is able to find and isolate the problem, make a note of the cause. If they are unable to find the cause and the water leak is serious, ask the property owner if they are able to isolate the water supply to their property using the stop cock until they have arranged for a plumber to attend.
- Move any objects away from areas in your flat where any water is getting through, as much as you can.
- If the leak is through the property roof, it is extremely unlikely that a contractor would be able to attend to the roof out of hours , particularly in the dark or the wet, so the weather and time of day needs to be considered. The best approach is to put a container under the area to collect any water until the area can be safely accessed. You should also turn off any electrics that may be affected and move any valuables out of the way. We should be notified when the office is open.
It should be noted that insurers usually only agree to alternative accommodation for water ingress when the flat is completely uninhabitable, for instance if there is no working kitchen, or bathroom, or there is no electricity throughout the flat.
If there is still a problem which requires immediate attention, please contact us via our out of hours procedure (see below).
3. Drains and sewers
The responsibility for fixing blocked drains in a flat depends on the type of drain:
- Shared drains: Drains that serve several flats in common are the responsibility of us as Managing Agent. Drains that serve a single flat are the responsibility of the flat owner or tenant.
- Drains within the flat: The flat owner or tenant is usually responsible for drains within the flat.
- Sewer and lateral drains: The local water company is usually responsible for sewers and lateral drains connected to the public network.
The most common cause of blocked drains are:
- Pouring cooking oils and fats down the sink
- Flushing wet wipes, nappies and other unflushable objects
- Hair build-up
- Paper towels and cotton wool
- Coffee grounds
- Food
Blocked drains can also be caused by external problems such as leaves and debris, tree roots or litter.
If you are experiencing a problem with drains such as sinks and toilets, clearing slowly, not clearing, or completely blocked up, please follow these instructions below:
- With sinks, baths and showers they all have traps to stop smells coming back up the drains, the traps are located under or as part of the plug hole. They should be checked as these often get filled with hair, solidified fat or detergent and this may be the cause of the blockage. Here is a video that shows you how https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhEfc2Ul8M0
- Establish whether the issue is only limited to your flat, or to part of your flat, such as sink, bath, shower or toilet. If the issue is only limited to one drainage point within the flat, or just to just your flat, it will be your responsibility to arrange a plumber or a drain maintainer to deal with the issue.
- Speak to your neighbouring flats on the same level as you or below you. If on contacting neighbouring flat owners it becomes apparent that they also have issues, it is likely that the drains in common are affected and this will be our responsibility as Managing Agent to deal with and you should contact us via our out of hours procedure (see below). You should also alert all block users to the fact that the drains are blocked, advise them not to have showers, baths, use washing machines or dishwashers and not to do washing up until resolved. Also suggest that use of toilets and flushing them is minimised as far as possible.
4. Lift Emergencies
Should you get stuck in a lift out of hours, you should use the lift phone or alarm call point to summon help, or use your mobile phone to call for help. Where contracts are in place most lift companies operate a policy of rescue within one hour of being called out. It is advisable to ensure that you have a mobile phone with you if using the lift so that in the event that you do get trapped, you can let others know so that they can inform the lift company or activate other emergency procedures as appropriate.
5. Automatic Gate/Garage Door Failures
If you are experiencing a problem with your automatic gates, electric garage doors or electric shutters out of hours, please contact the contractor who usually maintains them for your premises.
If there is still a problem which requires immediate attention, please contact us via our out of hours procedure (see below).
6. Fire Alarm Activations
If the fire alarm is going off out of hours you must call the local fire service (unless it is obvious it is a false alarm) in case it is a genuine emergency and follow their instructions. If your fire panel has a label on to show who maintains it, you can contact them direct if the panel will not reset, or contact us via our out of hours procedure (see below).
If there has been a genuine fire and damage has been caused to the property, then please contact us as we will need to alert the insurers and may need to work with them to secure alternative accommodation etc if applicable. Please contact us via our out of hours procedure (see below).
7. Security/Break ins
If you suffer a break in or other security incident you should report this to the police immediately, you may also wish to arrange for an emergency locksmith to attend and change the locks to your flat. Please inform us when the office is next open, as some block insurance policies may cover the cost of replacement locks. If there is an issue of general security to the block or a risk to other flat owners please contact us via our out of hours procedure (see below) so we can assess if further security measures are required.
Out of Hours Emergency contact
To contact us in an emergency when the office is not open:
Call 01305 548000 and select Option 1
Or report online at https://siriuspropertyservices.com/report-an-issue/ select priority “Urgent”
Please note we do not consider matters such as waste collections or containers, a single light fitting not working, parking matters, noisy neighbours or service charge matters, or planned future works as emergencies which we should be contacted about out of hours. You should contact us about these and other non emergency matters, when the office is next open on 01305 548000 , email us or report online at https://siriuspropertyservices.com/report-an-issue/
