Fast Response, Fewer Headaches: Why 24-Hour Replies Matter for Property Managers in Surrey & SW London
Oliver Bucksey
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At 7:42am on a grey Thursday in Kingston, Daniel scrolls through his phone on the train.
He manages around 220 units across several blocks – a mix of retired leaseholders in their 70s, key workers in their 30s, and young families balancing childcare and commutes.
Three new emails jump out:
- “Water pouring over the gutter at the rear of Block 3 again.”
- “The ramp by the bin store is really slippery – I nearly fell this morning.”
- “Any update on the moss on the roof? We’ve got surveyors coming next week.”
It’s not even 8am and his day already feels like it’s slipping away.
By 7:55am, though, something important has changed.
Each email now has a short, calm reply ready to send:
“Thanks for flagging this. Our exterior maintenance partner has already picked this up – they responded to our request within a few hours and are attending tomorrow morning. I’ll share their report with you once it’s done.”
Behind the scenes, Daniel sent one message to his exterior cleaning contractor the night before. By the time he wakes up, he’s got a response, a plan, and a confirmed slot.
No frantic ring-round. No “Sorry, we can’t get there for two weeks.” Just… handled.
That’s the power of a fast, reliable response.
Why Speed Matters More in 2025 Than It Did in 1995
Twenty or thirty years ago, most residents expected things to take time. Letters, landlines, paper notices. A two-week turnaround felt normal.
Today, people in their 20s, 30s and 40s grew up with next-day delivery and instant messaging. Even many leaseholders in their 60s and 70s now use smartphones and expect quick updates.
At the same time:
- The UK has seen a steady rise in complaints to housing bodies about repairs and damp over the last decade.
- The Housing Ombudsman has repeatedly highlighted delays in responding to issues as a core cause of “maladministration” findings.
- Organisations like RICS and CIBSE repeatedly stress the importance of timely maintenance to protect building fabric and reduce whole-life costs.
In simple terms:
Slow responses cost you time, money and trust.
The Hidden Costs of Slow Responses
When exterior maintenance requests sit unanswered for days, three things happen:
- The problem gets worse
- A slightly overflowing gutter on Monday can become damp staining by the end of a wet week.
- A patch of algae on a ramp can become a serious slip risk after a few frosty nights.
- A slightly overflowing gutter on Monday can become damp staining by the end of a wet week.
- The number of emails multiplies
- One initial complaint turns into 5–10 follow-ups as residents chase, copy in neighbours, and escalate.
- You lose hours that could have gone into planned work or portfolio strategy.
- One initial complaint turns into 5–10 follow-ups as residents chase, copy in neighbours, and escalate.
- Confidence erodes
- People start to say “nothing ever gets done around here”, even when work is in progress – simply because they haven’t heard back.
- Trustees and landlords begin to question whether the property is being managed proactively.
- People start to say “nothing ever gets done around here”, even when work is in progress – simply because they haven’t heard back.
Fast response times don’t magically fix every problem. But they change the tone of the whole conversation.
What We Mean by “Fast Response”
Let’s be clear: “fast” isn’t vague.
At Surrey Maintenance, we commit to:
- Acknowledging enquiries within 24 hours (often same-day during working hours)
- Providing a clear next step in that reply – not just “we’ll look into it”
- Offering realistic attendance windows, especially where safety is involved
For you, that means:
- You can reply to residents same day, not “when the contractor eventually gets back to you”
- You often know within one working day if an issue is minor, urgent, or part of a bigger pattern
- You’re not stuck chasing – you can move on with your day
Feature: Under-24-Hour Response
What It Is
Whenever you or your team contact us – by email, web form or phone – we aim to:
- Log the issue with basic details (location, risk level, photos if available)
- Respond within 24 hours with either:
- A proposed visit date/time, or
- A request for any further essential information
- A proposed visit date/time, or
- For genuinely urgent safety risks, prioritise attendance wherever possible
Advantage: How It Helps You in Real Life
Let’s look at three common situations.
1. The Slippery Path in a Retirement Block
You manage a block where the average resident age is around 75. A tenant emails at 3:30pm:
“The path near the entrance is very slippery. I nearly lost my balance.”
Slow response scenario:
- No acknowledgement until 3–4 days later
- Residents start warning each other in the corridor and on WhatsApp
- Someone falls, ends up in A&E, and suddenly you’re dealing with potential claims, investigations and serious stress
Fast response scenario:
- You log it with us the same afternoon
- By 10am next day you have:
- A confirmed cleaning slot
- Temporary signage arranged
- A plan for follow-up biocide treatment if needed
- A confirmed cleaning slot
Benefit to you:
- You reply to residents within hours, not days
- Everyone sees visible action within 24–48 hours
- You dramatically reduce the risk of the sort of slip that can have life-changing consequences for someone in their 70s or 80s
2. The Overflowing Gutter Before a Survey
You’ve got a building survey scheduled in five working days for a potential buyer in their early 40s – a typical “next-step” buyer with a young family.
The surveyor notes in advance that there might be an issue with gutters at the rear.
With a slow contractor:
- You may not even get a response before the survey
- Any visible overflowing or staining could end up in the report
- The buyer uses this as leverage to chip away at the sale price – often £5,000–£10,000 on a mid-market property
With a fast-responding contractor:
- You raise it a week in advance
- Within 24 hours, you have an inspection slot and likely cleaning date
- By the time the surveyor attends, gutters are cleared and any staining is at least not getting worse
Benefit to you and your client:
- Reduced risk of last-minute price negotiations
- A smoother sale process and fewer awkward conversations
- Your reputation with selling agents and landlords improves
3. The Stormy Sunday and the Monday Morning Inbox
We all know the pattern: heavy rain all weekend, and Monday’s inbox is a wall of:
- “Water pouring over the top of the gutters”
- “Downpipe blocked again”
- “Something green growing on the roof and now we’ve seen water on the ceiling”
If you rely on contractors who take three or four days to answer, you’re still trying to get basic information by Thursday.
With a responsive partner, you can:
- Log multiple issues in one batch
- Get triaged responses the same or next working day
- Prioritise the most serious risks quickly, rather than letting everything sit
Even if we can’t fix every problem in 24 hours, you at least know:
- What’s happening
- When we’re coming
- What you should tell residents
That clarity alone can cut the volume of follow-up emails by half or more.
Time and Money: Why It’s Worth It Over a Year
Let’s run some simple numbers for a typical block manager or housing association officer.
Say you handle:
- 200–300 units
- 10–15 exterior issues per month (gutters, paths, roofs, fascias, etc.)
If each slow-moving issue costs you:
- 30–60 minutes of chasing, logging, replying, chasing again
That’s easily 10–15 hours a month, or 120–180 hours a year – roughly 3–4 working weeks.
With a fast, organised contractor:
- Most issues are logged once
- You get a usable response within 24 hours
- You copy or lightly edit that into your resident reply
Even if that only halves your admin time, you’ve still reclaimed 1.5–2 weeks a year of working life.
What could you do with that time?
- Improve your planned maintenance strategy
- Strengthen relationships with key landlords or trustees
- Actually leave on time to see your own family
And that’s before we even talk about:
- Avoided emergency call-outs
- Fewer complaints escalating to formal processes
- Repairs caught early rather than becoming expensive crises
Who Benefits Most from Fast Response Times?
Fast, clear replies aren’t just a “nice to have”. They actively support the goals of:
- Housing associations & charities
- Better resident satisfaction
- Lower complaint volumes
- Stronger evidence for regulators and funders
- Better resident satisfaction
- Block managers & property managers
- Less time firefighting
- More time for planned work and client relationship building
- Less time firefighting
- Landlords & portfolio owners
- Reduced risk of bad reviews and void periods
- Better protection of asset value
- Reduced risk of bad reviews and void periods
- Care homes & schemes for older people
- Less risk of falls on slippery surfaces
- Reassurance for families and regulators
- Less risk of falls on slippery surfaces
For older residents, a quick response means feeling safe and heard.
For younger residents, it means their expectations match the service they’re paying for.
How Surrey Maintenance Makes It Easy
We back our fast response promise with a simple, professional process:
- Clear contact routes – phone, email or web form
- Issue logged and triaged – safety first, always
- Under-24-hour reply – with either:
- Confirmed date/time, or
- Clear next step
- Confirmed date/time, or
- On-site work by a clean, courteous, insured crew – £5M public liability, PPE, safety signage, City & Guilds certified
- Photo/video report – so you can close the loop with residents and trustees quickly
We’re local to Surrey and Southwest London, so we understand:
- Leafy roads that block gutters every autumn
- Older stock with vulnerable residents
- Mixed estates where 20-somethings and 80-somethings share the same paths and entrances
Our job is to help you stay ahead of exterior issues – not to add to your admin.
If you’d like exterior cleaning and maintenance support that actually responds fast, rather than adding to your chase list, we’re here to help.
Whether you manage 50 units or 500, we can start with a simple review of your roofs, gutters and high-risk walkways, then agree clear response expectations and set pricing.
If you’re interested in hassle-free, responsive exterior maintenance in Surrey or Southwest London, get in touch and we’ll happily provide a free, no-obligation quote within 24 hours.
