Housing customer service standards

We are committed to providing excellent customer service and have listed below a summary of our service standards, so that you know you to expect from us.

Housing income service standards

• Provide you with a choice of payment methods, which include direct debits, swipe cards, telephone payments, internet payments and standing orders
• Provide you with a replacement swipe card for payments within 15 working days
• Provide you with quarterly rent statements
• Show any court costs separately on your account rather than including them in your rent arears
• In all but the most serious of cases, allow you to make an agreement with us to pay any arrears by instalments and not take any further action provided you keep to this agreement

Tenancy and estate management service standards (including those tasks carried out by wardens)

• Inspect communal areas of flats and sheltered schemes once a month
• Visit all new tenants within four weeks of their moving in date to provide advice, information and answer any queries. This will include identifying any support needs, signposting to external support services or providing direct in-house support by referring to the tenancy support team
• Provide dedicated tenancy support to existing vulnerable tenants to help them keep their tenancy

Repairs and investment section service standards

• Emergency repairs – we will carry out the repair within 24 hours
• Urgent repairs – we will carry out the repair within three to five working days, or sooner where scheduling allows.
• Routine repairs – we will carry out the repair within 28 working days
• Planned work (fences, paths, plastering etc.) – we will complete within 90 days
• Internal and contractor staff will always wear photo identification
• We will protect your belongings from damage, dust and paint
• When doing repairs, we will clear rubbish from your home at the end of each working day
• When doing repairs, we will make sure that you have electricity, water and gas connected at the end of each day
• We will make sure that we keep you informed of progress
• We will provide adaptations to your home to address disability needs in  line with our adaptations policy
• We will fit a smoke detector on every floor of your home
• We will fit a carbon monoxide alarm in any room where you have a fixed combustion appliance (excluding cookers)
• We will service your gas boiler annually
• If we are replacing your kitchen or bathroom we will give you a choice of finishes and tiling to choose from

Anti-social behaviour service standards

• We will provide support and help for victims and witnesses of anti-social behaviour, having particular regard for those identified as being vulnerable
• We will risk-assess each reported incident and respond to all serious incidents of anti-social behaviour within one working day
• We will respond to all other complaints of anti-social behaviour within a maximum of five working days, advising the complainant of who their main contact is
• We will agree an action plan with complainants of anti-social behaviour
• We will signpost victims and complainants of ASB to the community trigger / ASB review process

• We will take enforcement action in line our published Corporate Anti-social Behaviour Policy.

General customer service standards

• Reply to letters and e-mails within ten workings days
• Respond to stage 1 complaints within ten working days
• Respond to stage 2 complaints within 20 working days
• Provide documents in other formats, including audio and braille if needed
• Provide interpretation and information in other languages where needed

Customer engagement service standards

• Provide and develop a range of ways for tenants and leaseholders to become involved
• Reimburse tenants and leaseholders for reasonable expenses occurred when attending meeting and involvement events
• Provide setting-up grants to groups wanting to set up a residents’ association
• Provide annual running costs grant to residents’ associations
• Provide a one-off payment of £250 to support community events or up to £400 annually for a continuing project
• Carry out tenant perception surveys every year

Warden and lifeline services standards

• Produce a  support plan for all sheltered tenants and review this every year
• Provide tenants in sheltered accommodation with access to an emergency alarm system and on-call warden
• Test pull cords in sheltered accommodation are on a six-monthly basis
• All pendants allocated to lifeline equipment will be tested on a six-monthly basis
• Provide weekly testing to all sheltered schemes for fire alarms
• Provide a response to emergencies within 40 minutes.