You can call our out of hours emergency number if you need urgent help that:
- relates to council services
- cannot wait until normal office hours the next working day
Our normal office hours are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Our emergency out of hours phone number is:
020 8583 2222
If your issue is not considered an emergency, you will be asked to contact us during office hours.
Before you call
Please keep the line free for genuine emergencies.
When phoning us, make sure you have all the relevant information ready (address, details of the problem).
We will not answer calls where the caller number is withheld or not available. Please leave a message with a number where we can call you back.
Reporting online is often quicker and helps keep the emergency line free. Many issues can be reported online out of office hours, including:
If it’s not listed above, you can search our website to find the right service.
What counts as an emergency
We pass urgent issues to a duty officer. These include:
An emergency repair is something that makes your home unsafe, insecure or uninhabitable.
Examples include:
- Major leak and burst pipes not containable
- Dirty water back surging through, sink, bath or wash hand Basin
- Blocked drain, stack pipes or WC's
- Lost keys (rechargeable service)
- Replacing door locks (if key stolen a crime reference number will be required)
- Window boarding up
- Front entrance door that will not close
- Total loss of electrical power
- Defective hard wired smoke alarm continually ringing
- Unsafe power or lighting sockets, electrical fittings
- Communal light failure in staircase
- No bathroom light and no window in the bathroom
No heating or hot water: Report this to T Brown on 0800 634 9434.
Residents in temporary accommodation should call British Gas on 0871 703 8939.
Gas Escapes, Report smell of fumes: Report to Transco by calling - 0800 111 999.
Call us if you:
- are homeless tonight and have not already been/spoken to the day team
- are at immediate risk of violence or abuse in your home
Call if there is:
- an immediate safeguarding concern about a child or vulnerable adult
- a breakdown in care leaving someone at risk
- urgent risk of harm
If someone is in immediate danger, call 999.
- Collapsed or unsafe buildings or structures
- Street and pavement issues such as traffic lights, streetlights, signs and blocked drains
- Noise nuisance
- Traffic accidents
- Urgent death certificates
- Linkline emergencies
- Media requesting a council spokesperson
Our emergency planning team coordinates the borough’s response to major incidents such as:
- flooding
- explosions
- large-scale evacuations
During a major incident, follow advice from the emergency services. Do not call the out of hours number for general updates unless you need to report an urgent issue.
If a burial or cremation is required within a restricted time in accordance with faith practices, the certificate for burial or cremation (the green form) can be requested at specific times outside normal office hours.
The Medical Examiner must have confirmed to you that they’ve emailed the medical certificate of cause of death to the Register Office.
GPs no longer send this paperwork directly to the Registrar.
The Registrar cannot issue the green form until they receive this certificate.
How to contact the Register Office out of hours
-
Saturdays (10am to 1pm):
Call 020 8583 2090 -
Bank Holiday weekends (9am to 11am):
- Bank Holiday Sunday
- Bank Holiday Monday
- Good Friday (Easter weekend)
For these Bank Holiday times, call the emergency out‑of‑hours line to reach the duty officer:
020 8583 2222
