National video maintenance platform Help me Fix is extending its reach to more self-managing private landlords with the launch of a new service.

The software virtually connects tenants to tradespeople who can resolve simple maintenance issues remotely and for more complicated ones, recommend the right parts for a first-time fix, eliminating the need for an initial call-out fee.

While it has mostly worked with letting agents and portfolio landlords since launching in 2020, its new Hub service is a specifically landlord-facing software product which can automatically request quotes from a landlord’s own contractors or auto-instruct in an emergency after a call.

Hub also has a national network of vetted tradespeople that a landlord can access on demand.

Hub launches in May, charging landlords £10 per property per month for unlimited calls, promising to save them 50% on their maintenance bills.

Founder Ettan Bazil tells LandlordZONE that the company is active in more than 20,000 properties in the UK.

He adds: “We have never had an incident where our advice has caused damage to a property, in fact, the reverse applies. Because tenants are usually connected with a tradesperson in under 30 seconds, we prevent major incidents from escalating and causing damage to the property.”

Social media

He recently shared an example on social media (main picture) about how Help me Fix had walked a tenant through disassembling and re-making the trap connections, permanently resolving a leaking basin waste.

Bazil adds: “The resident was happy for us to share the footage and photos and even happier that he had progressed from someone that had never made a plumbing connection to master plumber in 15 minutes.

“All of this without a property manager having to instruct a contractor, no carbon footprint from a diesel-guzzling van, and no call out charge for the landlord.”