Customer Charter - Service Standards

Customer Charter

Service Standards

Rents and Service Charges We will give you different ways to pay your rent, including online.

We will tell you how much your rent and service charges are. We will tell you before March every year or before you move into a new home.

If you go into arrears, we will contact you within a week with ways that we can help you. We will make sure those ways match your needs.

Moving In You will have a clean, safe, and secure home. It will match your needs.

We will make sure you can afford your home before you move in.

You can see your home before signing up.

We will explain what the rules are for your tenancy before you move in We will visit you after 6 to 8 weeks after moving in. This visit is a chance for us to talk to you about any extra needs you have. In this visit we will talk about any help you need.

Neighbourhoods and support We will keep the place that you live, or any shared areas, clean and tidy. We will tell you how often grounds maintenance or cleaning services will happen every year.

We will clear all fly-tipping in our communities or shared areas in up to 5 working days.

We will take all reports of anti-social behaviour seriously. We will investigate within 48 hours. We will do something about anti-social behaviour when we need to.

We will give you free money advice if you need it. This will help you manage your money and look after your home.

Building New Homes We will build high quality and well-designed homes. Our homes will be easy and cheap to heat. Our homes will be built with the “Rooftop Living Homes Standard”.

By 2025 we will be building “zero carbon” homes. We will use environmentally friendly design and new technology.

We will visit you 6 to 8 weeks after you move into our new homes. We will make sure you are happy with your new home.

Service Standards Communication If you complain we will take it seriously. We will talk to you at the time we say we will. We will finish a proper investigation. We will tell you what we are doing during the investigation.

We will try to sort out your query the first time you contact us.

We will tell you we have received your query.

We will talk to you at least once every 2 weeks to tell you what is happening with your query.

Repairs We will visit you for your repair within...

24 hours for an emergency repair (100% of the time) 5 working days for urgent repairs (90% of the time) 20 working days for normal repairs (80% of the time) We will make sure that all our health and safety checks are on time.

We will do gas safety checks, electrical safety checks, and fire safety checks. We will check smoke alarms in shared areas.

Before you move into our homes, we will make sure that you know which repairs we will do. We will make sure you know which repairs you have to do. We will make sure you know which repairs you will have to pay for.

We will make sure that you know if there is going to be any major work on your home. We will tell you at least 12 months before they start, or before you move into a new home.

We will put out our yearly list of how we are investing in the homes we own.

Keeping You Safe We will make sure that you have the right safety equipment for your home. This will be tested regularly.

We will make sure that all our health and safety checks are on time.

We will do gas safety checks, electrical safety checks, and fire safety checks. We will check smoke alarms in shared areas.

We will keep a list of homes that have asbestos in them. We will tell you if there is asbestos in your home.

Everyone that lives in our ‘supported housing’ will have a personal evacuation plan in case there is a fire.

The Regulator The Regulator of Social Housing is the organisation that makes sure housing associations are doing the right thing. They are part of the Government.

The Regulator of Social Housing Consumer Standards contain specific expectations and results that housing associations are expected to get to Home Standard - providing quality accommodation and a cost-effective repairs and maintenance service.

Tenancy Standard - providing homes in a fair, transparent and efficient way Neighbourhood and Community Standard - keeping neighbourhoods and communal areas clean, safe and help tackle anti-social behaviour Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard - providing choices, information and communication appropriate to diverse needs, a clear approach to complaints and a wide range of opportunities for tenants to have influence and be involved The Regulator also has economic standards that relate to how we operate as a landlord.

Governance – ensure effective governance arrangements that deliver aims, objectives and intended outcomes for our customers in an effective, transparent and accountable manner.

Financial Viability – we will manage our resources effectively to ensure viability is maintained while ensuring that our assets are not put at undue risk.

Value for Money – we will clearly state our agreed objectives, demonstrating value for money when delivering homes and services that meet a range of needs and optimise the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of our services.

Rent – we will set our rents in accordance with the Government’s Policy Statement on Rents for Social Housing