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Handy Person Service

What is the handy person service?

This is a minor repairs and maintenance service for Thrive Homes' tenants and leaseholders.

We have teamed up with West Herts Against Crime (WHAC) to offer you a new handy person service. You can book a reliable, quality handy person to undertake small repairs and maintenance work which would not be covered by our service charge or cyclical decoration programme.

Often it's the small jobs which cause us stress. These are the jobs which don't get done perhaps because we're too busy, unsteady, or lack the skills required. Our aim is to take away some of your worries by offering quality workers, just a phone call away, who will tackle the minor jobs you need help with. Knowing you will get a good service and that the handy person will have been security checked by WHAC, we hope you will take advantage of this new service. All requests and visits will be monitored to ensure you are receiving a quality service which meets your needs.

Who is it for?

From 2009, Thrive Homes, in partnership with WHAC, is introducing a handy person service for all our tenants and residents.

Every handy person will carry identification. Please check this when they arrive and call us if you are at all worried before letting them into your home.

What does it cost?

The service is free if you are:

over 60 years of age
vulnerable, eg, recently discharged from hospital
disabled.

There may be a small charge for materials in some cases (not raw plugs or screws).

The handy person service will be available to all our tenants and leaseholders from 2009 at a cost of just £30 per hour.

How do I book a handy person?

Telephone 0800 917 6077 between 8.00am and 6.00pm Monday to Friday.

Email enquiries@thrivehomes.org.uk

What sort of work will the handy person do?

Type of work	Example
Minor plumbing	replacing washer on a dripping tap.
Minor joinery	door handles; shelf fixing; easing of doors; loose floor boards.
Minor electrical works	replacing plugs; fuses, light bulbs.
Minor adaptations	grab rails - but these will only be fitted where the position has been clearly marked by a qualified assessor or customer.
Minor fittings	stair-gates; fireguards.
minor garden work	lowering hedge for safety or security reasons.
Minor fixing	refitting loose edges on carpet; hanging curtains; putting up curtain rails; fitting lightshades.
Minor repairs	guttering and gutter clearing (where accessible within health & safety constraints).
Moving equipment	moving items of domestic equipment eg, TV; washing machine (subject to satisfactory risk assessment).
Moving furniture	Moving furniture downstairs in circumstances linked to hospital discharge (needs a second handyman/technician linked to the scheme).

Other works may be undertaken with the agreement of Thrive Homes and WHAC. However no work will be undertaken which is the responsibility of a landlord under the conditions of your tenancy.

Work that the handy person will not do

any job which needs more than one handy person except work needed to facilitate a hospital discharge or the use of a long ladder
mains electrical works - such as re-wiring
gas works
major plumbing, glazing, joinery
major garden works, eg, erecting several fence panels or cutting down trees
grab rails - where position has NOT been clearly marked
regular gardening jobs, eg, cutting lawns, removal of leaves, weeding
any other works requiring repeat activity.

The handy person will not work in conditions which are a health risk, eg, where there is pest infestation.

And there's more ...

The handy person will provide free advice about:

crime prevention
fire safety
energy efficiency.
other support agencies.

You could also be offered:

free installation of security measures and smoke-alarms (battery operated only).