Good reactive maintenance in an apartment block means one clear route for reporting faults, priorities defined in writing, a contractor who makes the situation safe first and then reports back, and a record of every job that a managing agent, director or resident could follow. The contract should set out those priorities, how out-of-hours calls are handled, what the engineer can approve on the spot, and what evidence comes back for each job.
This matters more than it used to. In high-rise residential buildings, failures of firefighting lifts and essential fire-fighting equipment must be reported to the fire and rescue service if they cannot be fixed within 24 hours. Social landlords now face fixed timescales for emergency hazards under Awaab's Law. And in leasehold blocks, the way a maintenance contract is let can affect what can be recovered through the service charge.
What good reactive maintenance looks like
- A single reporting route for residents, concierge and staff, with every report logged and given a reference
- Triage against written priority definitions, not the judgement of whoever picks up the phone
- Make safe first, then the permanent repair, recorded as separate stages so nothing is closed too early
- Before and after photos, the engineer's notes and any certificates attached to the job
- A clear escalation step when a repair needs approval, specialist parts or a second visit
- Closing the loop with the person who reported the fault, so residents are not left chasing
Faults that carry legal deadlines
Under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, the responsible person for a residential building at least 18 metres high or with at least seven storeys must carry out monthly checks on firefighters lifts, evacuation lifts and essential fire-fighting equipment. That equipment includes rising mains, smoke control systems, suppression systems, fire detection and alarm systems, evacuation alert systems and automatic door release mechanisms. If a fault cannot be put right within 24 hours, it must be reported electronically to the local fire and rescue service, and reported again once it has been fixed.
Fire services in the North West have set up their own routes for this. Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service provides one online form to report a fault and a second to report the repair, with a fault reference number linking the two. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service publishes a reporting link for lifts and essential fire-fighting equipment in buildings of 18 metres or seven storeys and above. Your contractor needs to tell the responsible person quickly whether a fault will be fixed inside 24 hours, so the report can be made in time.
For social housing, Awaab's Law came into force on 27 October 2025. Registered providers must investigate emergency hazards and complete the work within 24 hours of becoming aware of them. For significant damp and mould hazards, the investigation must happen within 10 working days, a written summary must follow within 3 working days of the investigation ending, and relevant safety work must follow within 5 working days of the investigation. From 30 November 2026 the rules extend to further hazards, including excess cold and heat, falls, structural collapse, fire and explosions, and electrical hazards. They do not apply to long leaseholds or shared ownership, but if you manage blocks for a housing association, your contractor's priorities need to match these timescales.
What to put in the contract
- Priority levels described in plain words, with target attendance and completion times for each, set against your own legal and lease obligations rather than copied from a template
- Out-of-hours cover: who answers, who attends and when the managing agent is called
- Make-safe authority: what the engineer can do without approval, and a spending limit above which they must ask
- A duty to flag faults on lifts, fire safety systems, gas, electrics or water that may need reporting or follow-up
- Evidence for every job: job sheets, photos, certificates and materials used, returned within an agreed period
- Access rules: how flats are entered, how much notice residents get and how keys and fobs are controlled
- A monthly summary of jobs, repeat faults and open items, so reactive data feeds the planned maintenance plan
- The contract term, break clauses and the leaseholder consultation position
Section 20 and longer maintenance contracts
In England, an agreement for services or works that lasts more than 12 months, where any single leaseholder will pay more than £100 a year towards it through the service charge, is a qualifying long-term agreement. The landlord must consult leaseholders under section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 before entering it. For most private landlords that means two stages, each giving 30 days for comments, with at least two estimates obtained. Contracts of 12 months or less that do not roll over are not qualifying long-term agreements.
Individual major works that would cost any leaseholder more than £250 need their own consultation, even if they are carried out under an existing agreement. If the landlord neither consults nor obtains dispensation from the tribunal, what each leaseholder can be charged is capped at those limits. Urgency can be a ground for dispensation, but it is not automatic. The government consulted in 2025 on changes to the major works rules, so check the current position before letting a long contract.
How Apex helps
Apex Options provides reactive and emergency maintenance for residential and commercial buildings, with on-site delivery in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Greater Manchester and Cheshire. We agree priorities, escalation and job reporting with you at the outset, and work alongside a planned preventative maintenance schedule so repeat faults are dealt with at source rather than attended again and again.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, fact sheet on lifts and essential fire-fighting equipment
- Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service: faults and repairs
- Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service: fault and information reporting
- GOV.UK: Awaab's Law guidance for social landlords
- GOV.UK: Awaab's Law Phase 2 guidance
- legislation.gov.uk: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 20
- LEASE: qualifying long-term agreements
- GOV.UK consultation: strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services