Maintenance

Homes NSW is putting people at the heart of public housing maintenance.

Our priority is to maintain 95,000 of the state’s public housing properties to a standard that ensures safety, belonging and privacy for the people who call them home.

Homes NSW means better service and support for you

We know you need a maintenance system you can rely on. That’s why we’re making changes to the way we deliver maintenance services to people across NSW.

The main change you can expect is better service and better support for you.

Here are 5 key changes we’re making to improve your experience:

1. One organisation to support you

When Homes NSW formed in February 2024, we had an opportunity to change how public housing maintenance is managed and delivered.

Homes NSW brings maintenance and tenancy staff under one roof, working together to support you. As one division, it’s our priority to help you keep a safe and comfortable home.

You’ll see more of our staff in your community, speaking with residents and keeping in touch with your maintenance needs.

2. Same phone line, better service with the Maintenance Hub

Our new Homes NSW Maintenance Hub is your one-stop shop for maintenance and repairs.

When you call the Maintenance Hub, you’ll speak to a Homes NSW staff member who’ll work closely with you to understand and oversee your maintenance needs.

Here’s what you can expect from our service:

We’ll talk to you directly about your maintenance concern
Our staff will carefully assess and prioritise your request
We’ll oversee every step of your request from start to finish
We’ll send out the right contractor to fix the issue
Our contractors will communicate with you and keep their appointments
Our maintenance and tenancy staff will work together to help you
We’ll make sure contractors provide quality work in good time
We’ll improve how we handle home modifications for tenants with disability or impairment.

This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

To lodge a request through the Maintenance Hub, call 1800 422 322.

3. Key partners to deliver maintenance and repair services

To support the success of our new maintenance system, we've selected six experienced partners to deliver public housing maintenance from 1 July 2024.

Under a new contract and renewed expectations, we’ll make sure contractors deliver quality work in good time, and always with respect for you and your home.

These partnerships allow us to support local businesses and thousands of jobs across rural, regional and metropolitan NSW. This includes jobs for disability and community service providers, Aboriginal trades and social housing tenants.

4. Consulting on the future of maintenance

We’ve used years of tenant feedback to shape our new service approach.

We’ve engaged with tenants, advocates and peak bodies to discuss what we’ve changed and what more we can do to meet the needs of all our residents.

Your voices will continue to be heard and help us to keep improving. To submit feedback about your maintenance experience, call the Maintenance Hub on 1800 422 322.

5. New Maintenance App in development

Gain greater control of your maintenance with our new Homes NSW Maintenance App.

Currently in development, we’re engaging with tenants and taking steps to ensure the app is user friendly and accessible for all.

We expect the app to be available in 2025.

Frequently asked questions

Why are we making changes?

When Homes NSW formed in February 2024, we had an opportunity to change how public housing maintenance is managed and delivered. It gave us a chance to place our tenants at the heart of changes that will improve their everyday comfort, safety and standard of living.

Through the changes, we will:

ensure better service and support for our tenants
streamline and improve housing outcomes for people in need
ensure safety, belonging and privacy for the people who call our properties home
create a maintenance system our tenants can rely on
bring greater control of services and customer support back to government
allow contractors to focus on quality and timely delivery of works
use the voices of lived experience to inform our approach
strive for excellence in service delivery.

We have 262,000 people who rely on us for home maintenance and repair. We need to make sure they feel respected, valued and supported in every interaction with us.

Do the changes apply to CHP-managed properties?

No, the changes only apply to public housing properties managed by Homes NSW.

What do tenants need to do?

Tenants can continue to call 1800 422 322 or use eRepair to lodge their maintenance requests.

This phone number will connect you with our new in-house customer service centre known as the Maintenance Hub. When you call the Maintenance Hub, you will speak to a Homes NSW staff member who will help with all aspects of your maintenance request.

How is the Maintenance Hub different from the previous call centre?

The Maintenance Hub is an in-house customer response centre. The phone number is the same, but the people answering the phones and managing your requests are Homes NSW staff members. This is different from the previous call centre, which used external contractors to answer calls and manage requests.

Our staff will work closely with you to understand and oversee your maintenance requests from start to finish. They’ll carefully assess and prioritise your requests, making sure the right contractor is sent out to fix the issue within a suitable timeframe.

If we can't identify the exact issue of concern over the phone, we'll visit your home to assess the problem in person before sending out a contractor.

Will maintenance work still be delivered by external contractors?

Yes, tenants should expect that maintenance works and repairs will still be delivered by external contractors. These contractors may be different from those you’ve had in the past.

Homes NSW will be in control of your maintenance requests and how they’re handled, but we must rely on tradespeople and skilled contractors to deliver the work.

When you call the Maintenance Hub to make a request, we’ll let you know which contractor has been allocated to work at your home. They’ll contact you to arrange an appointment.

How will you ensure contractors provide better service?

Through a competitive tender process, we’ve selected six experienced partners to deliver maintenance works and repairs under a new contract from 1 July 2024.

We’ll work closely with our partners to ensure contractors deliver quality works in good time. With a renewed focus on the customer experience, you and your home will be treated with care and respect.

Contractors will be more accountable for their work. Extensive training will ensure they are prepared to deliver services to the high standards expected of them. Once their work is completed, it may be inspected by Homes NSW maintenance staff for quality and compliance.

Contractors may take photos of the maintenance issues they work on. These photos will only be used by Homes NSW to ensure quality of service.

Will there by any improvement to planned maintenance services?

Yes. The new maintenance system is based on our staff managing maintenance requests from start to finish. This will give us greater oversight of maintenance needs across all our properties, which will help us to improve our long-term plan for maintaining homes.

Will the Maintenance App replace the phone line?

No. You can still request maintenance over the phone, by using eRepair or by speaking to a staff member at your local office.

Have tenants been involved in the maintenance reform?

Yes, we’ve used years of tenant feedback to shape our new approach.

We’ve engaged with tenants, advocates and peak bodies to discuss what we’ve changed and what more we can do to meet the diverse needs of all our residents.

Can I be involved in consultation activities?

If you’d like to be involved in consultation activities, please express your interest by emailing Engagement.MaintenanceServices@homes.nsw.gov.au.

Who can I contact for maintenance support?

The Maintenance Hub is your one-stop shop for maintenance support.

Through the Maintenance Hub, you can:

Lodge a maintenance request
Request a home modification
Ask a question about maintenance/repair at your home
Find out how long it will take for your maintenance issue to be fixed
Check on the progress of your request
Submit feedback about your experience
Submit a compliment or complaint

This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To lodge a request through the Maintenance Hub, call 1800 422 322.

Largest-ever investment in public housing maintenance

As part of its Building Homes for NSW program, the NSW Government has made its largest-ever investment in public housing maintenance.

We’ll use this money to repair, restore and fix 30,000 public housing properties, making them safer and more liveable for the people who call them home.

Read more about how Homes NSW will lead the state’s biggest-ever investment in public housing.