A resident reports a leaking tap on Tuesday. By Friday they have heard nothing, so they contact the landlord again. That second contact is not a new problem, it is the absence of information about the first one. Multiply that across a few thousand homes and a large part of a housing team's workload is people asking for an update.
Repairs and tenancy questions dominate social housing contact, and most of the volume is avoidable.
The teardown: chasing is a symptom
Residents chase because nothing tells them what is happening. No reference, no timescale, no appointment confirmation. Each chase costs staff time and erodes trust, and the resident is not being difficult, they are being sensible.
What residents ask
Residents usually ask how to report a repair, what counts as an emergency, how long each type of repair takes, when their appointment is, what to do if nobody turned up, how to pay rent or set up a payment, what their rent balance is, how to report antisocial behaviour, whether they can keep a pet, whether they can decorate or make alterations, and how to apply for a transfer or mutual exchange.
Repair categories and timescales
Publishing what counts as emergency, urgent and routine, with the target timescale for each, answers the most common question before it is asked. It also sets a shared expectation, so a routine repair taking its published time is no longer a source of complaint.
Resident: My kitchen tap is leaking. How long will it take? Assistant: The repairs page explains the categories and target timescales, with a leaking tap usually treated as a routine repair within the period shown. Could you confirm your address and whether the leak is constant or only when the tap is used, so the team can log it and book an appointment?
Emergencies must be unmistakable
Gas smells, electrical danger, major leaks, no heating in winter for a vulnerable resident, insecure doors after a break-in. These need an immediate route to emergency services or the out-of-hours line, prominently, never behind a form.
Safeguarding and vulnerability
Some contacts reveal risk: domestic abuse, a resident in crisis, a child at risk, or someone unable to heat their home. These must reach a person immediately, and an assistant should never attempt to handle them beyond a clear handover.
Rent and arrears
Rent questions are sensitive. A website can explain payment methods and how to get support, and should point to independent debt advice, but never comment on a resident's account or circumstances.
Permissions and tenancy changes
Pets, alterations, subletting, adding someone to a tenancy and exchanges all have published rules. Making them findable removes a category of contact and prevents residents doing something that breaches their agreement.
Similar patterns in lettings
Private landlords and agents face comparable volume, as described in tenant questions that swamp property managers, rent, deposits and move-in questions answered clearly and tenant maintenance questions that should not clog sales.
Better information, fewer complaints
Clear expectations before and during a service reduce complaints afterwards, the same principle described in reducing refund requests with better pre-sale answers.
Getting started
Publish repair categories, timescales, payment methods and permissions, then answer at any hour. SpideyChat for property managers answers from your published pages. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about capture on the features page.