Keeping in touch
We’d like to keep in touch with you during your tenancy and we will do this in various ways including:
- by phone - 01303 853300,
- Facebook,
- by letter - F&HDC, Civic Centre, Castle Hill Avenue, Folkestone, Kent, CT20 2QY,
- by email - housing.service@folkestone-hythe.gov.uk,
- surveys,
- newsletters,
- home visits,
- newsletters,
- tenant bulletins.
To report a necessary repair
Check if the repair is your responsibility first, this can be found in the ‘Keeping your home in good condition’ section of this handbook.
Household and communal repairs
- Mears call centre - 080 0313 4740
Gas, hot water and central heating repairs
- Swale Heating - 080 0987 4034 (free phone)
Emergency repairs
We will attend to an emergency repair within 24 hours to make sure that there is no danger to residents or serious damage to property. Where more repair work is necessary, we will arrange a follow-up visit to complete the repair.
Please check the list below to see if your repair is an emergency:
- You have no electricity*
- You have no hot water
- You have no heating
- You have a major water leak
- You can smell gas (and you have a gas supply
to your home) - You have a blocked toilet, blocked foul drain,
soil pipe (and no other toilet in property) - You have water leaking onto electrics
- You have a serious roof leak
- You have exposed wiring or sparking sockets
- Your carbon monoxide or smoke alarm is beeping
- You are unable to secure your property because you cannot lock an external window or door (you may be charged for lost keys)
If it’s not one of these, and you’re convinced it’s an emergency let us know and we will do everything we can to help. When you report the repair please tell us if you might need extra assistance.
* Before contacting us check with your electricity supplier to see if there has been a power cut in your area.
Smell gas?
- National Gas Emergency Service, 080 0111 999
- If you can, shut off the gas supply at the meter
- You should open windows, extinguish naked flames and do not use electrical sockets or switches
Please make sure you include your name, address and contact phone number, and include as much information as possible about your repair. This will help us to prioritise the work correctly and get somebody out to you as quickly as possible.
If you have any specific access arrangements please include these in the email.
What we expect of you as our tenant
- That you give us your full contact details, name, address, phone number and email (if appropriate), so that we can contact you.
- That you give us an opportunity to respond to you within agreed timeframes.
- That you treat all of our staff with respect.
What you can expect from us
- Acknowledgment of your contact with us, usually by the end of the next working day.
- A full response (where applicable) usually within 5 working days.
- Where possible we will use your preferred method of communication
- We will treat you with respect and be polite, professional and honest.