🚨 Emergency Maintenance: What Counts (and What Doesn’t)

When something goes wrong in your student house, it’s natural to worry — but not everything is considered an emergency maintenance issue. To help you understand when to call us and when to submit a maintenance request, we’ve put together this handy guide.

At Student Housing, we’re always here to help, but emergencies are issues that pose a serious risk to life, health, or significant property damage. Here’s how we define them:

🚨 What Is an Emergency Maintenance Issue?

✅ Uncontrollable water leak or burst pipe (cannot be contained in a bucket or towel).
✅ Complete power failure (not caused by a tripped fuse or local power cut).
✅ Serious gas leak (call the Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 immediately).
✅ Fire (call 999 first, then us).
✅ Locked out of the property or room (access lost and immediate entry required — see charges below).
✅ Heating failure in winter months (when outside temperatures drop below 15°C).
✅ Dangerous electrical faults (exposed wires, sparks, or smell of burning).

🚫 What’s Not Considered an Emergency?

❌ Small water leaks (that can be contained in a bowl, bucket or with a towel).
❌ Loss of heating or hot water in summer months (we’ll arrange repair during office hours).
❌ Blocked toilets or sinks (unless they’re causing a flood or hygiene hazard).
❌ Appliance issues (oven, washing machine, microwave) — we’ll deal with these during office hours.

🔑 Locked Out? Here’s What You Need to Know:

Being locked out is stressful, but not always an emergency — especially if it’s because of lost keys or leaving them inside the property.

• During Office Hours: We’ll help you for free.

• Outside Office Hours:

  • Before Midnight: £50 attendance charge.

  • After Midnight: £75 attendance charge.

  • Tip: If it’s not urgent, wait until the office is open and it’s free for us to attend.

If you're locked out due to a mechanical issue with the lock, we'll attend free of charge.

🧊 Heating & Hot Water Issues

• Winter Months: Loss of heating/hot water is an emergency when temperatures drop below 15°C.

• Summer Months: We’ll arrange repairs during office hours — no need to panic!

🛠️ What Should I Do If It’s Not an Emergency?

✅ Log a maintenance request online at www.student-housing.co.uk/fix.
✅ Use common sense: If you can contain the issue (like catching a leak in a bowl), do that first.
✅ Switch off any affected utilities (e.g., water at the stop tap) if safe to do so.
✅ Wait until the next working day for non-urgent issues — we promise to get it sorted quickly!

🚀 Final Tips

If you’re ever unsure whether something is an emergency, ask yourself: Is this dangerous to me, my housemates, or the property? If yes, call us right away. If no, please log it online and we’ll be in touch.

👉 For emergencies, call our 24-hour maintenance line on 01522 410 646.