The Role of a Drainage Provider in Social Housing Maintenance
Drainage issues can create significant disruption for social housing maintenance teams and the tenants who rely on them. When problems such as blocked drains or plumbing issues inside a property, they can quickly affect tenants’ comfort, wellbeing, and confidence in their housing provider. To maintain safe, functional homes, it’s essential for social landlords and housing associations to work with trusted suppliers who put residents first.
More than ten years ago, Sanctuary Housing appointed Metro Rod to help reduce the risk of drainage related downtime and tenant disruption across their Norwich estate. What began as a responsive drainage repairs contract has since developed into a nationwide partnership, with Metro Rod delivering a wide range of proactive services designed to protect Sanctuary from repeated issues and improve the overall efficiency of their social housing maintenance operations.
Roy Barrett, Contract Surveyor at Sanctuary Housing, explains:
“Keeping customers happy with a seamless operation is our number one priority, and we needed a drainage provider that aligned with this ethos. Metro Rod’s 24/7 service, proven rapid response times, and shared customer-focused mindset reassured us we could rely on them to deliver a first-class service. Their work on our Norwich properties gave us the confidence to roll it out across our nationwide portfolio, and we’ve now worked happily together across the UK for 10 years.”
A Growing Partnership Supporting Social Housing Maintenance
Over the past decade, Metro Rod’s role has expanded far beyond reactive callouts. Today, they support Sanctuary Housing with a wide suite of services, including:
- Drain unblocking and repair
- Pump maintenance and refurbishments
- Leak detection and plumbing services
- Investigations into recurring or historic problems
- Preventative solutions that reduce long-term disruption
Their approach helps social landlords avoid repeat faults and ensures smoother, more efficient social housing maintenance routines. In the last 12 months alone, 99.9% of Sanctuary customers reported satisfaction with the work carried out, highlighting the consistency and reliability of Metro Rod’s service.
Putting Tenants First
A key reason for the partnership’s success is Metro Rod’s ability to integrate seamlessly into Sanctuary’s operations and provide a positive experience for residents. Offering same-day service and strong first-time fix rates, their engineers act as a direct point of contact for tenants—including those who are vulnerable or require extra support.
Clear communication ensures tenants understand what work is being carried out, how long it will take, and how it will improve their home. This customer-focused approach helps reduce stress, builds trust, and supports the overall aims of social housing maintenance strategies.
Real-Time Collaboration Through the Connect Portal
The Sanctuary operations team benefits from full visibility of Metro Rod’s work through the Connect customer portal. This system allows teams to instantly access:
- Job cards
- Live job status updates
- On-site images
- Engineer notes
This real-time insight ensures both organisations work collaboratively, delivering a 360° service that fully supports tenants living in Sanctuary Housing properties.
Roy adds:
“Metro Rod make managing our properties easier because we can trust that our tenants’ problems will be resolved and they’ll remain happy—which is what’s most important to us.”
Supporting Social Landlords Across the UK
If you’re a social landlord or property manager looking to strengthen your social housing maintenance strategy and reduce tenant disruption, we can help.
Talk to your local Metro Rod specialist
We are always happy to arrange a free site assessment and no obligation quotations for any work you might need. Alternatively, you can call our emergency hotline number on 0800 66 88 00
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