Dear Resident,

I hope you are well.

I would like to clarify our process regarding maintenance issues reported by individual residents. When a concern is raised about a facility that does not appear to be affecting other apartments within the building, we must ensure that, before calling out an engineer, the resident understands and agrees that if the issue is determined to be internal (rather than a communal matter), they will be responsible for covering the associated investigation costs.

The reason for this policy is that, in most cases—though not always—if a problem affects only one apartment, it is typically found to be an internal issue. Conversely, communal issues generally impact multiple apartments. To ensure fairness, we implement this agreement to prevent unnecessary costs from being charged to all residents.

For example, if your neighbours reported a similar issue and an engineer was called without this agreement in place, and the issue was later found to be internal, the cost of the investigation would have to be added to the Simmonds House service charge fees. This would not be fair to you or other residents, as the issue would be specific to their apartment and unrelated to your own.

Please understand that our intention is not to be unhelpful but to follow the correct procedures and ensure that costs are allocated fairly. If you have any questions or require further clarification, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Therefore, if you can please confirm your agreement to these terms,  we will happily proceed with arranging for an engineer to attend.

If you have any questions or require further clarification, please do not hesitate to reach out.