We asked Colin Stokes, Managing Director at Adiuvo to tell us the top 5 issues they come up against when providing out of hours services to the property management sector.

1. Lifts

Calls regarding issues with lifts account for 17.92% of all calls received. 

This is ranked at the top not only because of failures in buildings we manage out of hours but due to the fact we provide the same service for several lift companies monitoring their installations for faults and trap-ins which require careful supervision and response times to prevent medical issues.

2. Access

Next on the list is access.

Calls relating to access account for 16.43% of all calls received. 

This includes a wide range of different challenges from individual tenants facing faulty lock issues to communal doors being stuck shut (which is a type one issue due to the Health and Safety ramifications) or even building-wide access control failure which, in a large block, can generate multiple calls.

3. Leaks

Thirdly we have leaks at 15.92% of all calls received.

This surprised us as we actually expected this to be the most common fault reported – probably because it seems to be the most time consuming. 

Once again, there is a huge variety in the types of calls in this category; from roof and gutter issues in both individual properties or blocks of flats to the all too common flat-to-flat leaks, complicated by the fact that these are (in most cases) not our clients’ responsibility. 

Furthermore we have to deal with mains incoming supply leaks which can be catastrophic in terms of damage caused and require further instruction.

4. Electrical Issues

Electrical issues comprise the fourth largest category of calls at 8.37%. 

Once again, we receive a whole range of calls regarding in this area from routine area power cuts (not something we can deal with) to internal socket and lighting issues in rental flats, enquiries regarding meters and, most problematically, supplies to individual flats from communal distribution boards.

5. Heating & Hot Water

Our final entry is heating and hot water which accounts for just 10.13% of our calls but it is probably the most contentious as residents will seemingly suffer a lot but not being cold or unable to access hot water! 

This can be either individual rented properties having issues with internal boilers or, in the worst case scenario for us, a communal or district system sometimes resulting in over 500 residents being affected. 

These communal issues can, as you would expect, include contracted gas engineers attending or triaging the cause to something related such as power and pump issues or even automatic shut off’s in the case of fire alarm systems being triggered.

Adiuvo are the only specialised call handling service for the Property Management Industry providing out-of-hours and daytime call handling to approximately 540,000 properties throughout the UK. Adiuvo offer a call handling service for property professionals by property professionals.